A Jaune of All Trades
by NeoShadows
Summary: The Great War was over, the Darkness plaguing mankind sealed away. True peace had been achieved and Huntsman were just fairy tales in the modern world. Jaune was a down on his luck teen running a freelance shop. Plagued with late bills, a failing business, and woman problems. But Jaune was still Jaune. And it was still a world of bloody evolution.
1. Debt

**FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, I HAVE SLUMBERED! WHO DARES TO-**

 **Wait. I'm pretty sure I've done this before. Eh, that's what happens when you watch DBZ Abridge, you repeat the same old jokes out of habit.**

 **What was I doing again? Oh, right, work. Welcome back, folks! A new chapter of Multiplayer is up for your viewing pleasure!**

 **. . .No, wait. Wrong fic. Riiiiiiiight, this is a new fic, isn't it? Fuck. Well lets start over then.**

 **Welcome to A Jaune of All Trades! To my fans, as promised, here is the fic I've promised since its one-shot back in December. For those of you who are new and stopped in out of curiosity, sup? I hope to make you a fan as well.**

 **Today is October 12th, not really special really. Except if you're me and you're off to watch the screening of RWBY V5 in a theater near you! To celebrate the first episode of V5, I've decided to upload A Jaune of All Trades first chapter! I've had this finished for two months now and had it polished up by my favorite Beta, A Fan1204. I've also begun working on its second chapter and am almost finished with it, so again, I thought why not publish the new story. So, here we are.**

 **Of course, I have a lot to say about the story and its premise. But I'll what I'm able to say at the end of the chapter. For now, why not enjoy the new story. It's got Action, Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life, and your usual hijinks involving Jaune. I've also got to shower and get ready for the premier. I've never been so combat ready in my life. Not even when that damn truck ran me over.**

 **Enjoy the new story.**

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to RWBY, all rights belong to RoosterTeeth. I don't even own my own home. I rent this shit! Thank god I don't rent this damn laptop. They probably wouldn't want it back anyways.**_

 _ **. . . .Why are you looking at me like that? As if you're as saintly as me! We both watch a show about sexy highschool girls fighting evil. You knew what this was.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Debt.**

Gray storm clouds fell over the city of Vale, pouring heavy rain onto the puddling streets. Thunder and lightning clashed in an uproar as a lone blond trudged his way aimlessly in the storm. He wore a black hoodie with a bunny rabbit stamped on the front completely drenched in rain water, the damp fabric sticking close to his skin. He wore equally wet pair of faded jeans and black sneakers with a white lining. His hands rested in his pockets, body slouched as he ignored the rainwater soaking into his sneakers.

Jaune was happy for the heavy rain showering over him. It helped to hide the trails of tears running down his cheeks.

What the hell was he thinking? Going out in the streets of Vale with a piggybank full of a year's saved Lien like an idiot. To the common thief passing him by, he was an easy target, putting even a candy sucking baby to shame. It was no wonder one lucky thief was able to snatch his cash from him when he stopped to tie his shoes. The fast bastard. Couldn't even catch up to them as he tripped over some trashcans they had knocked over to distract him. Pain lanced up his right ankle, reminding himself of the horrid bruise crawling up his skin. It must have been a sprain.

A hiccup escaped the blond's throat as he wiped his nose on the sleeve of his wet hoodie.

He was eighteen, damn it! Graduated from high school and was considered a young adult. Jaune was too old to be crying like a child. He even had a job!

Well, had a job. WeeGee's Pizza didn't seem to like the fact he had lost their pizza's while he was out looking for an apartment while on delivery. Another thing to blame on the asshole who robbed him. And of all the times for bad luck to fall on him, it had to be when he left his rent-free home. He could already hear Ruby and Yang's laughter as he came back in such a sorry state.

Or worse, their pity. There was nothing worse than their looks of pity.

Now here he was, walking without any idea of what to do with his life without a job and without a home. Call it pride, but Jaune refused to go back to his friend's place like this. They had pitied him enough. Even if it meant going homeless, he wouldn't go crawling back a soaking mess.

A wave of dirty water smacked Jaune from the sidewalk by a passing car, further soaking his clothes and damaging his pride. He gritted his teeth openly. All the crap the world was throwing at him was too much, the frustration and anger erupted.

"FUCK! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!?" Jaune roared as hot tears continued to fall from his face. He stomped his foot in frustration, only further soaking himself. His body trembled and he fell to his knees in sorrow, not caring if anyone saw him.

Who was he kidding? His sisters always said he couldn't make it on his own. Ever since he was little he always needed help from others. Cooking, sewing, homework, drawing, dressing himself, cleaning, and so much more; they all helped him knowing he couldn't do it by himself. Just a scrawny boy who was helpless on his own. He couldn't even find a place for himself when he had first arrived at Beacon, forgetting the Lien his parent's left him for an apartment on the bullhead ride. If it wasn't for his first friend, Yang Xiao Long and her mother taking him in he would have been homeless.

Just like now.

Doofus. The Color of Failure. Silly Little Jauney-boy. He could hear his old bullies jeering him even after he had seen them off during graduation last month. A hollow chuckle left Jaune's lips as he gazed at the dark clouds above him. How could he hate them when they were right? Graduating from school didn't make him a man. He was the same little boy who left home believing he could make it on his own. Worst part about it all was that he had no idea where to go from here. He never did.

All his friends had futures and were making progress towards their dream jobs. They knew what they wanted to do with their lives, and they were happy. And slowly, they were drifting away from him as they followed their own roads to a brighter future.

But what did he want to do with his life? Jaune had never really thought about it before, shrugging it off as something he'd come up with if he graduated. Any job would do really, he told himself. Especially when his own dream had been broken years ago.

"Maybe it's better this way." Jaune smiled grimly as he decided to just stay where he was. Might as well let the cold rain do its magic. The world didn't need an unproductive blond with no clear future wasting space, "Someone who can't even deliver a simple pizza doesn't deserve to stick around any longer. I'm better off as food for some hungry stray dog. At least then I'd be good for something."

"Nah, pretty sure that dog would turn its nose away in a huff if it found waste laying around the street. Gotta give even a mutt some credit, even they wouldn't eat shit."

The sound of a deep voice chuckling snapped Jaune out of his despair long enough to glare weakly at the person. Suddenly, the rain stopped. Jaune blinked and turned his eyes up, finding a black umbrella above his head. Where did that come from?

Following the arm belonging to the umbrella, Jaune found a set of amused red eyes staring back at him. A man with graying black spiky hair and a slight stubble on his jawline. He wore a red dress shirt, black gentleman's coat, black slacks and dress shoes, and a sliver crooked cross necklace over his neck. The faint whiff of alcohol wafted off the man's clothing even in the heavy rain.

The black-haired man smirked at the confused expression on Jaune's face.

"Cat got your tongue, brat? Normally, you thank a person for shelter from the rain. Didn't your mother ever teach you manners?" he said smoothly.

Jaune nodded, his expression flat as he answered, "Yeah, but she also said never to talk to strangers. Especially if they've been drinking. She also said to start screaming, 'help, help, bad touch, bad touch' if they ever lend me a hand with an expectant look in their eyes."

The strange man scowled, a nerve on his forehead visibly throbbed at the disrespectful tone in the kid's voice, "What the hell kind of thank you is that? And what expectant look? Just because I've been drinking doesn't mean I'm up to no good. That doesn't happen till I'm fifteen drinks under the table and I'm fighting to stay in the bar." he said with a sense of pride. He took a moment to reach for his pocket, fishing out a small silver flask before leaning his head and downing its contents, "And that makes twelve."

What a weird old man. Jaune turned his face away from the semi-drunk man. The lessons his mother had drilled into him gnawed at him, causing him to sigh in defeat before speaking again.

"Thank you, for the small shelter. Even if it won't be of much help." Jaune chuckled weakly, splashing the rain puddle beneath his knees with his scratched hands, "Pretty sure I'm going to end up dying of frost bite or getting a nasty cold. Wasting your time on a cold corpse is a bad way to go about your day."

"That's some morbid thinking there, brat. Normally kids like you who have just graduated high school think they're invincible and on top of the world. Just looking at you is bringing me down."

"Sounds about right. It would be better if you just left me alone. With the day I've been having, I might accidentally rub off some of my bad luck on you. I'm better off dying in the gutter. Maybe I'll be good at that."

Bad luck, huh? A sympathizing grin wormed its way on the man's lips.

"Sorry, but no can-do kid. If I left some random homeless blond die in front of my shop, the value would drop even further. Not to mention the landlady would beat my ass for the foul stench."

Keys jangling brought Jaune's attention back to the strange man smelling of alcohol. It was then that he finally noticed where he was kneeling in front of. An old worn-down shop situated in a small rental home greeted his vision with several trinkets and candy for sell on the shelves. With the man opening the door to the shop, the rain fell back down onto Jaune, pouring rain trickling down his confused face as the red eyed man smirked and gestured his head inside.

"Come on. Pretty sure I got something warm like chicken soup or vodka to warm you up. If my little niece ever found out that I ignored some down on his luck kid in front of my shop, she'd never forgive me."

Jaune didn't budge as he continued to stare at the stranger like he had grown a second head. It wasn't until the man had reached out his hand that he finally blinked. Any bits of hesitation or suspicion vanished as something inside him urged him to accept the kind gesture and the hand reaching out to him.

The man grinned as he pulled Jaune up, patting his soaking back as he led the dazed kid into his shop.

"Name's Qrow by the way. How about you and I have a little chat? I got a proposition that might lift your spirits up and pull you away from that dank gutter of yours."

* * *

[Present Day]

"Son of a bitch! The newest edition of X-ray and Vav is on sale today!"

A blazing blur of blue shot past the streets of Vale's busy morning traffic. Honks and angry yells followed behind the high velocity blur as it continued for its destination. It ignored the busy traffic, passing by even the fastest of cars.

Jaune Arc could sympathize with them as he ignored the many middle fingers aimed for his back. He too was running late. The bouquet of flowers safely tucked in his backpack wasn't going to deliver itself. He was supposed to bring them to the client's grandmother by nine before she was sent off for surgery today. The only problem with that though was that today was Monday and CockBite Comics had released on their website that the newest edition of their widely popular comic was going to be on sale today.

Which meant every comic book nerd living in their mother's basement or attic was going to be hustling their asses for the newest book in the series. If he didn't make it to the bookstore on time, then they would be completely sold out! And he would be damned if he didn't get his copy by the end of the day.

Another blaring horn roared behind the blond delivery boy. He couldn't help but snarl, ticked off at the impatient bastard behind him as he turned his head to shout at the driver. Jaune's mouth dropped finding a large red delivery truck with blue flames painted on it. It edged closer to his back as if it was going to run him over.

"…Proficient Alpha? Is that you?" he said dully, recognizing the design of the truck after a morphing vehicle in the cartoons he watched on Saturday mornings. What was a Manualbot doing out in daylight? He wasn't a Betrayaton.

The truck driver blared his horn repeatedly at the gawking blond biker. His large vehicle edged closer to bump Jaune's bicycle, not caring if he had to run over the kid.

With a nervous laugh, Jaune quickly swerved out of the way of the driver just as the man got tired of his staring. The trucker flipped his finger at the boy, shouting obscenities as he drove past to make his scheduled drop off.

"And here I thought the Manualbots loved kids." Jaune grumbled, finding the exit out of the freeway to the neighborhood streets. Luckily, the comic store was close to his client's home. He was just going to make a quick stop and buy himself the newest issue of X-ray and Vav before finishing his job. He couldn't afford to mess this job up, it offered 60Lien. Just enough to make rent for the day if all his jobs were completed. Now Silvia wouldn't be up his ass about his late rent.

For this month. He still owned her the late fee for the last one. For a pretty lady with hypnotic hips, she could be savage.

Swerving past another oncoming vehicle, Jaune turned towards the next lane, sighing as he was finally free of the heavy traffic. About time, his ears were starting to ache from all the blaring horns and curses. Now it was smooth sailing until he reached the bookstore. With the lack of cars on the street to look out for, Jaune decided now was a good chance to see what his day's schedule would be like. Scroll in hand, he pulled out his memo's page.

 _'Monday's Work Schedule:_

 _9am-Deliver Mrs. Brandie's Flowers._

 _10am-Cut Mr. Jefferson's Lawn._

 _12pm-Deliver Groceries for Mrs. Bale._

 _12:30-5:00pm-Fix up Shop and run register._

 _5pm-Closing/Jaune Time._

 _Total Expected Lien for the day:120 Lien.'_

Jaune sighed at his earnings, knowing it wasn't enough. Rent for his shop was 2,100Lien, very hefty when you looked at it. But his place was big for having three floors. The second floor had six rooms for god's sake! Often times it made Jaune wonder what the old dusty crow used to do with all that room. Eh, questions better left unanswered he supposed.

A good week of steady freelance work netted him 300 or more Lien. Times that by four weeks and add in the profits he made from selling items from inside his shop, and Jaune made about 2,000 or so Lien a month. That was not close to enough to pay off rent. He was sure if he had any other sane landlord under contract, they would have evicted his ass a long time ago. Not Silvia though. No, that woman had ways to make up for the lack of payment and his ever-growing debt to her. Sometimes he wondered if she only kept him around for free work and the enjoyment of threatening him.

 _'I got too much Jaune time on my hands. As much fun as it is to play games and read comic books all day, I need more work. I barely have enough to keep my fridge fully stocked.'_ Jaune thought tiredly as he shut off his scroll.

Along with rent, he also had to pay for power and running water. Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury to pay for cable or heat. Of course, he paid off the important bills before rent seeing as he wouldn't have enough to fully pay for it. And guilt-fully he also used his Lien to feed his comic book and video game obsession. Maybe he'd have more money if he cut back on his habits, but he was only human.

Worrying about his financial situation was nothing new for him. It was sadly something he had gotten used to these past three months. Before the old owner of the odd jobs shop had left the business to Jaune, he had made sure the kid had enough to pay off the first month's rent. The second month had been grueling with little work and full of anxiety. And the third month he had racked up a debt and become the landlord's bitch, her words, not his. Now he was at month four and found himself repeating the third month. At the rate he was going now, it wouldn't be long until she legally owned his precious ass.

 _'I need to find more work, fast. I don't want to become a burden to anyone else again.' he thought frustratingly. 'No one would take in a slacker who isn't capable of providing a simple lunch.'_ Well, most wouldn't.

A woman with wild raven hair styled in a ponytail, red eyes, pale smooth skin, and a bountiful chest suddenly came to mind. The woman in his thoughts had a seductive leer in her eyes as she licked her lips hungrily, causing Jaune to sweat as he felt his body heat up. He gulped dryly before shaking the image away.

 _'Yeah, I definitely don't want to go back. I'm not sure I could last against her teasing any longer.'_ Jaune was basically a grown man now. There was little reason why he shouldn't cross that line. Other than the whole sleeping with his friend's mother thing and getting the shit beat out of him.

Luckily Jaune didn't have to think much on the matter anymore as his sights caught the bookstore ahead. Peeking at his watch, he was relieved to see he still had enough time to take care of his personal business. Slowing down, Jaune eased his bike into the parking rail by the entrance of the store's door to lock his bike. With a click of the chain he carried, Jaune moved quickly past the door to grab his comic.

Tukson's Book Trade, home to all the books under Remnant. It was just a slogan of course, but Tukson did have an impressive selection of literature you couldn't get anywhere else. It was run by a kind yet stern faunus, Tukson Wild. Not only was he a good guy, but he was also a client he had recently found. Whenever he had ordered a large shipment of supplies and books, the puma faunus would call on his services for help. Hopefully he would continue having Tukson as a client for the future, he had been doing well since he began helping the owner last month with biweekly shipments.

Inside the store was a massive collection of literature of all kinds. Simple stories, textbooks for school, do it yourself books, manga, comics, and novels that ranged from adventure to smut of all things. At least he knew were to stop by when Blake's birthday came up again. Along with books, the store also sold fan collectables and even games and toys based on certain popular books. With so much to offer, Tukson's place did fairly well. But stepping in, it was strangely devoid of any customers.

Jaune shrugged, not questioning it seeing as it meant he was free to buy his copy of X-ray and Vav with no hassle. He still had a job to finish after all.

Behind the glass counter of the store, Tukson smirked as Jaune made his way up to him. The faunus man already had an idea as to what the kid wanted.

"Look who it is, Mr. Give-Me-Money is here for his daily fix." Tukson grinned widely, earning a small glare from the blond freelancer, "Don't you have rent to pay? You know, a good friend would help stop his buddy from spending his money on useless things and focus on the important stuff. I can't have a paying customer going homeless because he decided to waste his money on picture books instead of a roof over his head."

"Don't patronize me, Tukson! And they're adult literature! How many times do we have to have this argument?" Jaune growled with a twitch in his eye. For a guy who was laid back, Tukson could be rather judgmental. Damn bastard simply didn't understand the art and finesse of comics and their story telling.

"As many times as it takes for you to finally buy something that doesn't have pictures on every page." Tukson said flatly before shaking his head in amusement, "Seriously though, don't you have rent coming up? I'm not saying to not buy anything from my humble little store, but shouldn't you be thinking about not becoming homeless?"

Jaune waved his hand around carelessly in a show of how he didn't care, "I'll be fine. This month is going to be different, I just might have enough to pay off Silvia for this month. But in order to do that, I need you to run along to the back," he grinned brightly, gesturing his fingers in a walking motion to represent his faunus friend, "And get me the newest limited edition of X-ray and Vav, Shipping Mania. And then I'll be on my way to my paying job, happy and carefree!"

Tukson nodded his head in understanding, playing along with Jaune as he grinned smugly, "Yeah, I'd do that, I really would. But! I got some bad news for you." he said ominously with a dark chuckle that sent chills down Jaune's spine, "We're sold out of X-ray and Vav #103."

The world shattered before Jaune and his body froze, the life in his eyes dying with his hopes and dreams. Tukson could swear he saw the boy's spirit try to leave him.

"What did you say?" Jaune asked lowly as he felt his will to live die.

"Yeah, sorry to say that I've had a literal campground of nerds waiting outside of my doors since yesterday. The second my doors opened, they swam in in droves and paid top dollar for the issue along with just about every collectable in the shop. Say what you want about those no life's, but their money is as good as some aristocrats." Tukson said mirthfully. He would never understand what drove a person to go to such lengths for something as trivial as a comic book. He didn't care either way, one person's obsession was another one's salary.

Jaune dropped his forehead onto the glass counter with a cry, a gray cloud of depression falling over him as he weakly pounded the surface.

"Those damn weebs! All I wanted was to enjoy a nice comic before going back to my unsteady work, but those trolls just had to ruin that for me too! It's League of Fables all over again!"

He could already picture those smug bastards, their neck fat jiggling as they laughed over him with dirty fingers running along the pristine cover of his favorite comic menacingly. A good third of them would never even read it! They would just shove it somewhere, away from the world of reading eyes, to collect dust to one day sell for more Lien. Of course, Jaune would do the same after reading it several times, but he was still pissed!

It seemed the world just wouldn't stop kicking him. down It was having too much fun.

Tukson chuckled at the mad, teary eyes of the blond boy staring up at him. Yeah, puppy dog eyes didn't work on a puma.

"Sorry, kid. But I can't help you with something that doesn't even exist in this store anymore. You're just going to have to go back to work without your little book. Or you could actually buy a well written book this time." he said with an amused scoff. Like that would ever happen.

Jaune pouted as he cleaned his face, "I'd have that comic if I didn't have a working life. Lucky care free bastards." he said bitterly with a sigh.

Those days of living without a care no longer existed in Jaune's future. Not if he wanted to continue keeping the roof above his head. Things had been so much easier when he lived with his friends.

 _'You know you wanna~! Don't be afraid, I'll help you along. Just trust me and let my hands do all the work.'_

Jaune gulped as a shiver ran down his spine, his face lightly blushing as the dark tempting voice returned. His head spun around in fear, looking out for any sings of jet black raven hair and red leering eyes. Even when she wasn't around, he could still feel her!

Tukson quirked a brow at the blond freelancer's odd behavior. It almost looked like he was looking out for a spy.

"You okay, Jaune? Don't tell me the lack of a comic book is giving you a panic attack?"

Jaune chuckled weakly as he shook his head, his eyes peeled for a certain raven-haired mother, "Nah, I'm good! I was just thinking back to the good old days!"

The good old days of being blue balled that is.

With no reason to be hanging around any longer, Jaune shoved his hands into his hood's pocket as he gave the kind puma faunus a small smile. It was time to go back to work. Maybe it was a good thing that he couldn't buy his comic. He was running it close to paying off the rent anyway.

"Well, I got to go. My client is still waiting on me to deliver those flowers to his grandmother. I can't lose this paycheck, otherwise Silvia's having my left nut for dinner."

"That's not a joke, is it?"

"You know god damn well it's not a joke." The woman was terrifying.

Turning for the door with a wave good-bye, Jaune was ready to head out before the bell rung out, alerting them to a customer coming in. The bell kept ringing as Jaune frowned at the several guests walking through, the first of the them to enter walking straight past him as if he wasn't there. The man was as tall as Jaune, his back slouched with his hands inside his torn leather jacket. He wore ripped black jeans with chains lopped around the belt, designer black and red sneakers, an open black leather jacket with sharp studs and a white wife beater shirt. The man's lower face was hidden by a bandanna serving as a mask, designed with a toothy grin. His leaf green hair was spiked back, his red eyes lazily staring back at the scowling shopkeeper.

"Lock the door." he grunted, gesturing his head to one of the similarly dressed men filling in the store.

Jaune felt uneasy, now stuck in the middle of something he probably shouldn't be witnessing. He gulped as two of the grunts fell beside him, crossing their arms over their chest as they silently leered at him, daring him to make a sound.

The leader of the grunts nodded in satisfaction, his eyes never leaving Tukson. He smirked underneath his bandanna.

"Tukson, been a while since we last talked, hasn't it? Forgive me for trespassing during working hours, but there seems to be a matter of discussion we must hash out. See, the thing is one of my boys keeping up with our book keeping made a mistake. He tells me that the payment plan we were discussing wasn't running through, that we haven't received a single dime for our lustrous services." he said kindly, his eyes shut as his hands slammed down on the counter top. He leaned over, his red eyes scowling at the glaring faunus, "Course, I knew that was bullshit. So, I broke a bone in the guy for making a mistake and went to work on it myself. Now, mind telling me why I just lost a boy to an error on your part? Because I'd love to hear the answer."

"That's simple, because I refuse to pay for your crap." Tukson glowered as the thugs' eyes narrowed dangerously, "I've told you this before, Drake, I don't work with punks. Especially wannabe White Fang supporters."

Drake felt insulted, going as far as to crack the glass surface in annoyance.

"The Chipped Fang ain't no posers! Unlike you, we actively support our brothers and sisters fighting for our rights! We just know to ask for a little cash for protections is all." he grinned with a smug sneer.

"Chipped Fang?"

Drake blinked at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Spinning around, his eyes found a blond boy with blue eyes in a hoodie being watched over by two of his grunts. He titled his head, walking over the stranger as he looked him over. The grin on his face grew wider.

"Well, ain't you something that don't belong? Sorry, man, but I tend to get tunnel vision when on a job. Seems we got an extra body in the midst." he laughed before staring down Jaune with wide threatening eyes. "But I'm a little insulted that you've never heard of the Chipped Fang. We're the next front line for the White Fang, Remnant's most illustrious group of freedom fighters! Course a filthy human wouldn't know, you're too stupid to even know when to run!"

"But, you locked the doors."

Drake stroked his masked chin and nodded in understanding, "Hmm, seems like a personal issue though. And I don't deal with personal issues that aren't relevant to yours's truly. Not unless their concerning a target." he glowered as something from his back moved.

From the back of the man's waist, a moss dew green scaled tail whipped out like a spring. The slim lizard tail twitched, moving to hang by his face and point its metal pointed tip at the blond. The appendage reminded Jaune of a gecko's tail. Drake chuckled, seeing Jaune's eyes nervously stare at the deadly appendage.

"You like? It's a prosthetic, no thanks to your kind." he hissed as the metal point released sharp studded barbs over it, "A faunus got to protect itself. That's why the Chipped Fang is here. To show you humans we ain't something to pick at. We offer protection to our kind, at a price of course. And if they don't feel like working alongside us or accepting our help, then their no better than humans. And we don't really like humans." he hissed as his men laughed and jeered in agreement.

Tukson gritted his teeth at the situation. They just had to stop by now of all times. What rotten luck. He didn't want Jaune of all people getting caught up in a mess like this.

"Drake, leave the kid out of this! You're here for me, right?!" he shouted as he bared his sharp canines.

Drake glanced back lazily at the puma man, "Hmm? What, you wanna gossip now? Man, can't you read the room? I'll get to you in a bit. I got me a human to rough up." he chuckled darkly. Seeing the shopkeeper move to interfere, he gestured to his grunts to stop him. Several loaded gun barrels stared Tukson down in a blink of an eye, keeping him from moving any further as he scowled furiously.

"Good boy. Now, where were we?" Tapping his chin, he grinned widely as his tail aimed for the kid's face. He wouldn't kill him, but he would make sure that he would flinch every time a faunus passed him by. The grunts around stepped back, giving him plenty of room for him to beat the human around.

 _'Was I born with bad luck? Or is this somehow Qrow's fault?'_ Left sitting like duck, Jaune could only watch as the prosthetic metal tipped tail shot to stab him.

The lizard tail snapped, stabbing through the fabric of Jaune's waist as his body simply moved to the right. The action took Drake and the others by surprise as Jaune looked back at them flatly.

"I swear to god, I did not mean to do that." he said tiredly.

Drake's eye twitched.

"You little bitch!" Angered, he snapped tail his at Jaune again. But again, Jaune's body moved fluidly and continued to dodge the barrage of stabbing thrusts. The faunus was only further pissed off at the expression on the blond kid's face.

The kid didn't even look like he was doing it on purpose?! If anything, every missed stab made him sweat nervously! What kind of bull was that?

Jaune sighed as his body moved automatically from the deadly tail stabbing at his chest. What a situation he found himself in. Stop in for a comic, get caught up in some gang related activity. Who the hell did he piss off to deserve this curse of bad luck? Amidst the dodging, Jaune narrowed his eyes as he caught the thug's pattern. Well, might as well do something other than dodge. Timing the next stabbing tail snap, Jaune reared his fist back quickly, taking Drake by surprise before digging his fist into the lizard faunus' gut.

Drake flinched, ready to stumble back from the center blow. But instead of being thrown back, he found himself staring curiously at the arm connected to the blond connecting with his stomach.

"That… hurts?" he uttered slowly, his tail retreating to scratch his head as Jaune suddenly pulled his fist back and clutched it to his chest.

"FUCK!" Jaune cried, tearing up slightly as his wrist throbbed. Why did he think that was a good idea? He didn't know a damn thing about how to properly throw a punch. Times like this he wished he had taken Yang up on her offers to join her in her sparring.

Drake patted the area of the punch with a laugh. That was it? For a guy who could dodge well, he would have thought the kid had the muscle to fight back too. Sure, the punch to the gut had hurt, but he had been hit harder. Even one of his newly recruited grunts could stand back up from that. Patting his stomach, he grinned dangerously at the grimacing kid as he rose his fist up and cracked the digits. No need for his tail to get dirty, it would be a lot more fun to do this the old-fashioned way.

Throwing a fist for the blond's face, Drake smirked as he watched Jaune's feet move him to dodge as his tail snapped. His lizard tail coiled around Jaune's waist, stopping him from dodging the hard right. Jaune's vision spun for a moment, his head ringing as the knuckle snapped his head to the right. A nasty bruise began to form on his cheek as his head fell and his breath grew ragged. Weakly, he glared up at the smug leering eyes of the lizard faunus thug.

"Not so tough now, are ya? Ya had that coming for dodging the first blow. Now you've forced me to dirty up my fists. Guess it's better than washing out the blood of my prosthetic." he laughed as he pulled Jaune closer with his tail.

Jaune laughed nervously, throwing his arm up in a show of meaning no harm, "C-Can't we talk about this? I know a great diner that serves the best pancakes in town! I can even get us a discount! What do you say?" he said hopefully as the thug grinned behind his mask.

"I don't fuck with pancakes. I'm more into waffles."

"Oh… well then your kinds not welcomed." Jaune said flatly as his arms dropped uselessly. Nora did not take kindly to waffle lovers.

The comment wasn't exactly worded right as all the assembled thugs' eyes fell on him with sneers. Even Tukson shook his head at him, disappointed. To Jaune's credit, he immediately moved to apologize but found himself eating another knuckle sandwich.

Drake patted the blond kid's bruised cheek as his vision swam with a smirk, "Don't worry, I know what you meant." he said nicely before digging his fist into Jaune's stomach.

Jaune's breath was stolen, gasping as Drake drove his fist deeper. Pulling back, the thug began to smash his fist into the bruising area repeatedly, not giving Jaune a moment to catch his breath as he roughed him up.

Tukson openly snarled, his claws popping out as he could only watch Jaune's body beaten like a rag doll. Each echoing thud of fist meeting flesh made his temper rise. It was taking everything in his power not to lunge and tear the thug apart.

 _'God damn it! Where are they? Those doughnut lovers should have gotten here by now!'_

Rocking Jaune's body with one more punch, Drake lifted his head up to look at him with his hands pulling at his blond locks. He clicked his tongue, finding a defiant glare staring him back. Usually the human's he beat up would start crying by now and he'd leave them to run away with their tails tucked in.

"Looks like someone's used to getting their ass kicked."

Jaune laughed hoarsely, his grin strained, "Buddy, you have no idea."

Drake's face twisted in annoyance as his fist twitched. So, he thought it was funny? Well then, he was just going to have to make sure he left a good impression on the idiot.

Readying his fist for another round of playing punching bag with the human, Drake was suddenly stopped by the sight of a few of his grunts turning their heads out towards the window in alert. He growled, faintly catching the annoying sound of sirens and skidding tires parking. He spun around for Tukson as his tail dropped Jaune to the floor.

"You bitch, ya called the pigs on us?" he spat as the puma man smirked.

"It's called paying extra for security. Now you know why I didn't take you up on your offer."

With the arrival of the police, Drake was left with only one option.

"Scatter! Don't let a single one of those coffee chuggers take ya's in! VIVA LA BEAST REVOLUTION!" he cried in panic before scrambling out the door faster than any of his men.

"FREEZE!"

Drake's eye twitched, finding a gun barrel pressing against his temple the moment his feet stepped out the book store. A uniformed officer narrowed their eyes at him, the hammer of the gun clicking back as the officer dared the faunus to make a move.

"Fuck me."

* * *

"Just add some pressure to the bruised area with some ice and don't strain yourself, and you'll be fine."

Smiling in thanks to the paramedic handing him a pack of ice, Jaune turned his eyes to the sound of a commotion. The lizard faunus, Drake, was putting up a fight with a few of the officers taking him in as they tried to bring him in the back of one of their cars. The thug's red eyes glanced back at Jaune, narrowing in anger as one of the officers restrained his tail. Jaune gulped as he hurriedly turned away.

Did he just make an enemy?

"Don't worry, Jauney-boy. The little gecko or whatever he is won't be touching a hair on that little head of yours. So, stop squirming and man up." a familiar voice chuckled from behind. Moving around to face them, Jaune found a pair of blue eyes and short brown hair in a VPD uniform.

"Cardin?" Jaune said in surprise and Cardin grinned before helping him up on his feet. "What are you doing here?"

Cardin looked at him dryly before gesturing to his uniform, "Working, duh. You know I was planning on joining the force in the future." It was something they had talked about back in high school! Was the idiot not listening?

Jaune knew that, but this early? He just graduated not even half a year ago!

"But don't you have to go to an academy to join the police?"

"Course you do, but I'm part of a special program." Cardin smirked smugly as he pointed his thumb proudly to himself, "The boys and I are currently attending Vale Police Academy and were chosen along with a few others to live a day in a life with some guys on the force. We were riding on patrol, thinking we wouldn't see any action until we got a call about some disturbance. But I didn't think I'd be seeing you at the center of the mess." he whistled as he looked over Jaune's injuries, "Damn, haven't seen bruises like that since my old bully days. I used to rough you up just like this!" he snickered as he patted Jaune's arm.

Jaune winced, still sore from his beating.

"You don't have to remind me." he was one of Cardin's victims back then.

The good old days of high school. Funny how fond he thought of those days when they had only been months ago. How things had changed.

Gingerly pressing the icepack to his bruised stomach, Jaune moved to check on Tukson. It was nice to see Cardin again after they had parted ways at their graduation, but he still had work to do. And he wanted to at least make sure his new part time employer was okay.

"As much as I'd like to stick around and chat, I got to check up on my friend. The poor guy was nearly mugged after all. I'd be shaken up if that happened to me." he chuckled with a slight wince.

Cardin shrugged, "Yeah, sure. Go check up on flea breath, I got a job to do." he waved off carelessly.

Jaune smiled at his old friend before turning away. He did stop for a second to glare flatly at Cardin and punch his shoulder as he followed.

"And remember to keep an eye out for that racism. You're still a work in progress."

Ignoring his old bully's pouting glare as he rubbed his shoulder, Jaune looked out for Tukson amidst the small crowd of cops. He quickly found the store owner standing in front of his store, scratching the back of his as he talked with two officers. It looked like he was being interrogated.

"I keep telling you, I have nothing to do with those punks! Why would I signal the alarm if I did?" Tukson bit off as he began to lose his patience.

"To confuse us!"

Tukson fought the urge to smack someone.

"If you want proof, I got video evidence of my innocence."

"You can edit anything with computers these days."

Fucks sake!

Cardin rolled his eyes before intervening.

"Knock it off, you two. I'm sure the captain wouldn't be pleased to hear you guy's harassing another victim again." he said as he laid his hands on the two officer's shoulders. The two officers grumbled under breath before jotting down the last of their report and walking away.

The headache growing eased as Tukson breathed deeply as he cracked his neck. He couldn't tell if the two were stupid or racist. Now that the annoying officers were gone, he smiled as he finally noticed Jaune.

"Good to see you're alright, Jaune. I was worried that the punk had done a number on ya to send you crying to the hospital. But it looks like there's nothing to worry about." Tukson chuckled as he playfully punched the blond's shoulder. Jaune winced, cursing both for not understanding what sore meant.

"I've been better." Jaune grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder.

Tukson shook his head amusingly before frowning at the bruises over the kid's face. He really did take a beating. Poor kid. And all he had wanted when he stopped in was a copy of his favorite comic, not an ass whooping. The thought didn't sit right with him. Nodding to himself as he snapped his fingers, he spoke to the officer by them.

"Think you can wait a second? I just want to grab something from the back of my store really quick."

Cardin shrugged, "Sure. But I ain't in no position to let you do that. I'm just observing for the day. But I'm sure there's no harm in you stepping back in for a bit."

Tukson didn't care as he ran back to his store and disappeared for a few moments. Finding what he was after, he walked out with a suitcase in hand as he made his way over to the two.

"I know it's probably not much for all the trouble you were dragged into, but maybe this ought to make you feel better." he said apologetically with a grin as he clicked the locks of the case off and displayed its contents for Jaune to take. Jaune was confused until his eyes went wide in surprise.

Sitting inside the case was the copy of X-ray and Vav he had been wanting. Zip locked in a protective plastic cover, it radiated like the finest of jewels in his eyes. He had to stop himself from openly drooling as his shaky fingers reached for the rare item.

"But I thought you sold the last copy." he said in confusion.

"I did, but every book shop owner knows to save one copy for themselves for value purposes. But after everything you've been through, I thought it would be better for you to have, free of charge." he smiled as he handed the briefcase to the awed blond freelancer, "A book, even one full of pictures, is meant to be read, not stowed away somewhere to be sold off for a quick check. It's better in your collection than mine."

Cardin quirked his brow mirthfully as Jaune hugged the briefcase tightly against his chest, "You still reading those books? You really haven't changed, have you?" he laughed.

Jaune didn't dignify Cardin with an answer, choosing instead to marvel at the gift in hand. His blue eyes sparkled as he opened the case to peek at the comic again, awing at its beauty. All that pain had been worth it in a way.

"Ah, shit! He's getting away!"

"Don't just stare, pick up your jaw and apprehend the bastard!"

The sound of a familiar laugh sent shivers down Jaune's back. Turning his head around, his heart stopped as he watched the spiky green haired lizard thug run past the officers around them. The cuffs on his wrists cracked, shattering under his strength as he grinned, his bandanna lost and revealing his sharp teeth and scarred lip.

"Suck a dick, pigs! Ain't no one ever gonna take Drake in alive!" he laughed with his new-found freedom. His eyes suddenly zoned in on Jaune, narrowing as he smirked. "Watch your back, brat! I ain't done with you yet! Best believe that you're on the Chipped Fang's list!" he cackled maniacally before running off with several officers chasing him on foot.

Well that was unsettling. But that still wouldn't take away from the joy Jaune was feeling! He was just going to have to watch his back if he ever crossed any dark alleys. Tucking the briefcase under his armpits, he was ready to say good-bye to his friends and move onto his paying job.

The sound of static caught Cardin's attention before reaching for his walkie-talkie. He frowned as he listened in before releasing a frustrated breath.

"I'd love to stay and chat, Jaune, but I got to move on with the rest of the boys. It looks like some old lady down the street kicked the bucket. So, we got to head over and investigate."

Old lady? Down the street? Jaune's face paled as he slowly turned his eyes to the clock of his scroll.

'9:21 a.m.'

There's was no way, right? He was just going to be an hour late and when he got to the address, the old woman he was supposed to deliver flowers to would be alive and kicking! Because there was no way she would just die like that. She had surgery planned, there was no way she would ignore heading out to the hospital just to wait for some lousy flowers. Right?

The scroll in hand buzzed violently, displaying the caller ID of his employer. And in the background, he could make out the officers cursing as they lost sight of the thug planning revenge on him. Suddenly the rare comic book didn't seem so glamorous.

 _'I hate my life.'_

* * *

'Well, I don't think Mr. Bradie will be hiring me again, or recommending me to his friends.'

With Jaune's little eventful morning past him, he had gone straight to his next job. After the little detour had cost him a client, he had pedaled furiously to his next job for an early start. He had just lost 60Lien, he couldn't afford to lose another penny!

Turns out, Mrs. Bradie, god bless her soul, had been waiting for her son's flowers to arrive before the paramedics would take her in for surgery. Apparently the two had been at odds with another for a long while and he had decided to bury the hatchet with a show of flowers, to prove his love to his mother before meeting once she woke up. He had promised her that she would receive them before she left. So, she had waited, patiently for her son's sign of love, refusing to budge even as the nurses arrived to help her to the hospital. But with the minutes ticking by, she had grown sad and heartbroken that her son had apparently lied to her. Literally, she was heartbroken. She had a heart attack and died with a broken heart.

 _'I killed an old lady! Inadvertently! What the hell's mom going to say!?_ ' What kind of fucked up bullshit was that!? Just because her flowers were a little late, she had a heart attack? How old was she!? Couldn't she have waited another ten minutes?

Guilt aside, this meant that his hopes for a contract with his client had been killed off as well. Mr. Bradie was pissed. Livid. Said some hurtful things in the moment. And wished that Jaune would die under several explicit and descriptive ways, by his own hand. So that obviously meant Jaune wouldn't be paid. The flowers safely secured in the iron basket at the front of his bike would go undelivered and without a home.

Passing another honking truck nearly running him over, he looked at the beautiful arrangement of flowers solemnly, "Guess I could give you guys a home. But I'm warning you, I may not able to feed you something as simple as water sometimes." he chuckled weakly.

With how short he was going to be with today's rent, it looked like he would have to resort to drastic measures. He owned some rather rare collectables back home. It wouldn't kill him to sell one to make rent. It would hurt, and he was sure he would be sobbing while watching the highest bid on Ruby's laptop, but he would still live. Making a mental note to stop by the Branwen/Xiao Long home, Jaune came to a stop as he waited for the light overhead to turn green. Heavy traffic glared back at him, making him grow anxious. He did not want to be late again.

 _'Hopefully Raven's still working by the time I stop by. After the morning I've had, I'm not sure I could endure her temptations.'_

"Excuse me?"

A small shy voice startled Jaune, nearly knocking him off his seat as he spun his head around for the source. Suddenly his eyes fell to the bench by the sidewalk next to him and the girl sitting with her backpack gripped tightly to her chest. The girl didn't look any older than 14, with rusty red short hair, slightly tanned skin, and a single blue eye, her left eye covered up by a black beanie. The girl wore a simple school uniform and checkered skirt, an odd little silver bull's eye token hung by a chain around her neck.

Chuckling in embarrassment for nearly falling, Jaune smiled at the girl.

"Yes, how can I help you?" he asked kindly. The girl gave the blond boy a tiny smile before nervously looking down at her feet. She gulped, her trembling lips opening but lacking words as she fought with her shyness.

"I… I was wondering if you could… maybe, give me a ride to this address?" she said slowly with a trembling voice. She reached into her backpack and nervously showed him the address she was referring to.

Carefully, Jaune leaned in and read the directions, frowning as he recognized where the little girl wanted to go. That was Funhaus Rd, almost five miles from here. Even on bike it would take him an hour to get there at his fastest. The ride back would take as long as well. It was 9:37, he really didn't have time for this. With a guilty sigh, he shook his head.

"S-Sorry, kid. But I don't have the time to help you out." he apologized with a slight stutter. It didn't feel right to ignore her, but he had rent to make! Right now, he had to focus on what was important, and right now that was making sure he had enough money to keep the roof over his head. Or owe another debt to a sadistic woman.

At his refusal, the rust haired girl's head dipped as she clutched her backpack tighter. She nodded in understanding and looked down at the pavement.

"O-oh, okay then. Sorry for taking up your time, mister." she said with a tremble in her voice.

An arrow of guilt and self-disgust stabbed through Jaune's heart, nearly sending him falling back at the sight. His heart was weak to such things!

"Don't you have someone to take you there? Parents, friends, uncles, aunts, a friendly neighbor that nicely complains about your dog leaving presents on his lawn when actually he's silently planning on killing you in your sleep?"

The girl sadly shook her head, lacking the voice to speak. The scene was only made worse as a drop of water hit her head. Jaune looked up, his eye twitching as he watched dark clouds gather overhead.

 _'…Does this please you? Or do you want me to suffer more?'_ Why was the world against him?

Well, it was about to rain. Surely his client would dismiss him today. Who cut grass in the rain anyway? It made no sense to do such a thing if it was pouring. And as much as he didn't want to lose the money from the job, Jaune couldn't find it in himself to turn away from the little girl. It was killing him just thinking about leaving her like this. He was just going to have to bite the bullet this time.

Fighting the urge to sigh in frustration, Jaune inclined his head to the girl with a grin as he rang the bell on the handle of his bike. The red rust haired girl's head snapped up in surprise.

"Well, I can't just leave you here. I wouldn't be able to look myself in the eye and call myself a big brother if I just left you out in the rain by yourself." he said mirthfully before moving over a bit on his seat. It wasn't meant for two people, but Ruby fit just fine if she held onto his waist. "Hop on and I'll take you where you need to go!" he said brightly.

The girl smiled happily as she quickly hopped off her seat and sat behind the kind blond. Nervously, she latched her arms around his waist. He chuckled at her timid behavior. Reminded him of one of his younger sisters.

The rush of traffic came to an end, signaling the patient and impatient drivers to go on ahead with the change of light. Instead of taking a straight as he would have, Jaune turned to the left and the clouds overhead began to let loose a curtain of light rain. From the looks of it, it was only going to get worse. He felt sorry for the girl holding onto him as the rain fell over them. She wasn't exactly dressed for today's weather.

"We'll get to your destination in a jiffy. I don't want you getting a cold out in this rain." Jaune said kindly as he sped past the traffic in their way. Ah, the perks of a bike. The bastards in his way could kiss his ass. There was a lot of traffic for a Monday morning. Busier than normal when he thought about it. Reaching another red light, his unasked question was answered by the loud radio of a car stopping beside him.

"-the visit marks a small milestone between the continent of Vacuo and Sanus today as one of Vacuo's top diplomats stops by Vale to visit the governing council about peace talks. The people of the continents are hopeful that such visits will be the beginning of putting an end to the fighting for lands bordering the brother landmasses and cease the countless bloodshed from nearly a century ago. Mayor Port expressed enormous joy at the visita-"

The light turned green, cutting off the radio message as the car drove on. Following in suit, Jaune bicycled his way through the puddling waters of the street.

 _'Well that explains the traffic.'_ Jaune thought to himself. People were hoping to see the visiting diplomat. It was a first that all the fighting for land would finally be put to an end. A certain green haired, coffee obsessed teacher of his was most likely going to be there too, no doubt dragging along his class to witness the momentous occasion. Remembering the address he was taking the girl to, it all suddenly made sense.

"So, I'm guessing you're off to see the peace talks?"

The rust haired girl's eyes went wide in alarm for a split second before she shifted nervously against his back. She nodded slowly.

"Something like that." she said softly, her voice mumbling against the damp blue of his hoodie.

Jaune smiled brightly at the girl. It was nice to see kids at her age taking an interest in such matters. The little girl probably had a thing for politics and wanted to be a part of them. Who knows? He just might be taking a future Sanus council woman to a historic event.

"Then I better hurry up! I can't have you missing something important like this!" he said brightly as he picked up the speed.

The small girl nodded wordlessly, her gray blue eye dropping their nervous act as Jaune focused on the road, unaware of the emotionless gaze behind him. The glinting blade in her hand slipped back into her sleeve with a soft click as her hands hugged him tighter.

* * *

After dropping off the nice girl near city hall, Jaune decided to look at his messages from his client letting him know not to show up. It was pouring by then, raining cats and dogs to the annoyance of the faunus hearing the old saying. Jaune had even gotten a flash alert of flood warnings in the lower section of the city. So, it was surprising to find out that his client had been messaging nonstop on his whereabouts. Apparently, the old man who had hired him didn't care for the pouring rain or the small flooding of his lawn, all he cared about was his grass and hedges being cut.

Answering the call from his client, Jaune had to suffer through the old man's tirade of complaints with his service. Being wet, a little hungry, sore, and still upset with losing his first job of the day when he was caught up in some gang related trouble, Jaune had lost his temper and argued back. In the end, he had lost another day's worth of money, and even worse, a contract.

"Pretty sure the guy was a racist anyways." Soaking wet and sore, Jaune grumbled to himself as he slowly came to a stop in front of an old shop. Tiredly, he looked up at the fading, broken sign and the skew C of the letters.

Crow's Nest: Freelance Services.

The sight of his shop always made Jaune feel a strange mix of joy and frustration. But he liked to believe that every business owner felt the same way when stepping into their shop. The run down three-story shop was now in Jaune's name, leaving all the responsibilities that came with it to him. From the rent, electricity, heat, and repairs, it was his job to make sure that they were all paid for. As the new owner of the freelance shop, he was responsible for keeping the place running now that the old owner had left to god knows where.

Three months ago, on a rainy mid-morning like today, Jaune had fallen down on his luck in front of said shop before being found by its drunken owner, a man simply known as Qrow. Of course he later found out during his interactions with the drunk that he was a Branwen, and even more shocking, twin brother of Raven Branwen, Yang' mother. Things… happened that day. Things that made his shoulders sag tiredly as the rickety wooden door struggled to open all the way as he stepped into his dark little shop.

A proposition had been made that gloomy rainy day. And desperation had answered back.

Crow's Nest: Freelance Service's now belonged to Jaune Arc. It was an odd little shop, offering services of all kinds. If a house needed cleaning, then look no further. Needed help mowing the lawn? They had them covered. Needed a ride to a special event? Crow Nest's offered cheap ride fare. Needed your browser history wiped once you kicked the bucket? They didn't judge and would happily delete every bookmark of dirty, dirty, dirty filth from the drive before smashing it to pieces and burying it in the deep sea. Whatever the task, Crow's Nest would deliver!

But Jaune was only one man and his skills were pretty much average. A jack of all trades in a way. Master of little, but adept in a lot of things. The only jobs he could offer were manual labor work right now. He made most of his money selling the random nick nacks and snacks he offered inside, and even than he only ever made enough just to get by on rent. By now he was used to being strapped for cash.

Shutting the door behind him while locking it up, Jaune dropped his soaking wet sneakers to the side as he flipped the switch for the lights. The lights were dim, flickering weakly as they fought to do their job. He would have bought new bulbs, but that meant spending money.

The inside of the shop was pretty much all wood, some kind of exotic burgundy lumber if Qrow's mumbling could be taken for fact. From the counter top that was shaped like a U, to the chairs by the corner of the small table, to the shelves and racks filled to the brim with sweets and snacks. It was pretty big in his opinion, showing off a lot of useless space he had no need of. How Qrow worked like this, he would never know. What he would like to know was how the man turned a damn profit.

At least there was one good thing to take from owning his own little shop. He didn't have to pay when he needed to satisfy his sweet tooth. Snatching a rope of liquorish from one of the shelves, Jaune walked over to the front counter top before moving a section of it to the side like a door. Ripping off a nice length of the strawberry treat, he decided to check the register for Lien. It was Monday and he had forgotten to count the weekend's profit last night. Praying for a small cash mine to save him for the month, he popped open the register with a ding before clicking his tongue.

78Lien. It wasn't too bad. It would make up for his first job's net loss, but he was still short at least a hundred Lien. It was times like this he wished he could hire someone else to stick around the shop to work the register and sell goods. He couldn't do both while on a job, or searching for more work. Again, he wondered how exactly Qrow made this place work. The single week of training hadn't revealed all that drunkard's tricks.

 _'Looks like I got no choice then. I'm going to have to make the ultimate sacrifice and sell one of my collectables.'_ Jaune fought with his tears as he sniffed. Oh, the things he had to do to keep an old roof over his head. Not even the sweet in hand could make the situation taste less bitter. Whenever he was in a financial bind, he was left with no choice but to sell of his his valued treasures to fans alike.

Grabbing the colorful cards to move over to his safe below the counter, the ding of the bell over the front door turned his hopes up for the first time today. He shut the register quickly and tossed his soaking wet hoodie to the side, leaving him in a simple black shirt as he smiled at his guest.

The smile on his face fell like a slab of iron to the bottom of a lake as sharp yellow eyes met his gaze with a seductive smirk. He gulped audibly as four muscle headed men followed the silverish white-haired woman inside. The woman was dressed professionally, wearing a black pair of pants that fit her legs and waist snugly, a black buttoned long-sleeved jacket with odd fang like cufflinks over a silk white top, and black high heels that boosted her height to Jaune's height. Her face was sharp, free of blemishes except for the small patches of scales around the edges of her sunflower yellow eyes and cheeks. Her skin was pale white, her exotic look putting even woman from Mistral to shame. And her silver white hair flowed behind her to her waist, the tip of her mane tied by a single large red bead and a single lock of hair braided like twin snakes crossing over one another by the left side of her face.

Stopping in front of the visibly cowering blond boy, the woman raised her hand, halting the rather large and bulky men behind her. She then leaned over the wooden counter, giving Jaune a small view of the visible pale flesh of her modest chest as she grinned.

"Mr. Arc! So good to see you this morning! You know, I thought I would miss you around this hour, you're usually busy working your little odd jobs at this time. But it seems you don't have work this morning." the woman's words stressed the S's, her slightly forked tongue peeking out as she twirled a lock of her hair playfully. The grin on her face quickly fell, replaced with a stern scowl as she leaned closer to Jaune's face.

Normally, a beauty being so close to him would have him blushing beet red, especially when he could feel their hot breath tickling his lips. But after three months of dealing with the woman, arousal had been shot and buried as it was replaced with fear for a tombstone.

"Now, I don't mind if you don't have any work and sit around playing clerk with your thumb up your ass, but I do mind if said slacking off doesn't yield any Lien. Lien that I'm here to collect for rent."

Jaune began to sweat under the glowering stare the woman was giving him as he nervously chuckled.

"I had work, Silvia! It's just that… some things had happened and I may have, sorta, possibly, lost my clients for the morning." he said dejectedly as he hung his head in shame.

Silvia Constrict, a woman whose very name made Jaune want to run for his room, hide under his bed, cradle his stuffed bear, Knighty, close to his chest, and suck on his thumb as he rocked back forth in terror. She was a woman that every tenant should fear. He didn't know much of what she did for living, only that her work had her managing several rental properties among other things. There was something about her that put Jaune on edge, even when he had first met her when she had stopped by during his training under Qrow. When he looked at her eyes, he could only describe them as a predator staring down its next prey.

She was intimidating was what she was. And evil. And probably a secret crime boss with all the lackeys she had around her constantly. Plus, he was sure she was a man eater. But despite all that, she wasn't what you would call a horrible landlord. Not as long as you paid your rent of course. If you paid your rent, you would hardly ever see the snake faunus and would only have to deal with one of her lackeys instead. Sadly, for Jaune, he wasn't exactly the most on time tenant with rent.

Rolling her eyes at Jaune's excuse, Silvia gestured her open hand for the Lien he had. She didn't need to hear about his failures, only his earnings. Stiffly, Jaune nodded and reached back down for the safe before handing the snake woman what Lien he had. Her eyes flitted across the colorful cards before scowling.

"This is 1,732Lien. You're short about four hundred. Now, first time you didn't fully pay rent, I was merciful. I even had you pay back the debt with a small favor. But I can't keep doing such a thing. Others might think I'm going soft and begin to follow your bad example. So now, I must make an example of you. You do know what that means?" she smiled dangerously as her yellow eyes leered at the nervously smiling boy. She snapped her fingers, signaling for one of her buff escorts to walk over to her. He didn't need to say another word as he reached into his suit's pocket before handing the woman what she wanted.

Jaune's heart went wild, beating like a crazed drummer as his shaking blue eyes fearfully stared at the silver spoon in the woman's hand. An odd little white ceramic cup was placed in front of her along with a fancy salt shaker as her forked tongue licked her glossy lips.

"I'm going to have to rip off one of your precious eggs and swallow it whole."

'Despite the situation, and the threat of losing my nut, I am still strangely aroused.' There was seriously something wrong with him if he had to fight a rager right now. If only his dick understood the threatening situation.

"There's no need for that!" Jaune shouted frantically as one of the escorts handed Silvia surgical white gloves. The silver haired woman paused as she stretched out the gloves, quirking her brow in show of listening, "I promise you, I'll have the money tomorrow! I swear on my name as an Arc, that I'll have the rent in the morning! So, please don't rip off one my family jewels!" he cried, practically begging the snake faunus with tears running down his face.

Silvia narrowed her eyes dangerously, snapping the last glove on before lazily resting her head on her hand, "Swearing on a name I've never heard of means little to me. For all I know, you're just making up an excuse to later escape your punishment by leaving at the dead of night, never to return. Which would be of little use, I always find my man." she coed with a sinister smile.

As if Jaune would dare run. Call him a goof, but even he wasn't brain dead. The woman was a predator and would hunt him down for sport.

But Jaune was an honest man! Sorta. When he made a promise, he did everything in his power to keep it at least.

Gulping, Jaune steeled his resolve and met Silvia's stare with his own, "Just give me until tomorrow and you'll have the rent, plus extra. I won't run, you got to give me some trust on this. I'll show you that an Arc's word is worth its weight in gold." he said strongly, refusing to back down before the scary woman. His heart was still beating like a drum as he stared the woman down, doing his best not to show another sign of fear.

For a good minute, Silvia leered at the blond boy, watching for any signs of weakness in his blue eyes. But she found none, no signs of deceit or plotting. Only honesty, if you could call it that.

Narrowing her eyes, she carefully removed her surgical gloves and snapped her finger. The escort beside her set all the items on the counter away carefully before bowing and leaving out the door with the rest of the men at her command. Left alone, Silvia opened the small door and stood right in front of Jaune with a disgruntled scowl on her beautiful face.

"Tomorrow, 8 a.m. And not a second later. I'll have men staked outside, watching your every move for signs of you running away from your debt. And if you're short one penny, I swear on my name," Silvia's hands pressed themselves against Jaune's chest, digging her sharp nails into the fabric of his shirt and into his skin as she nuzzled his neck, her sharp fangs hovering over the veins threateningly as she felt him squirm at her touch, "I'll swallow more than just one egg. I'll swallow you whole." she said softly as her hot breath washed over his neck like a gentle flame.

Giving Jaune a pat on the cheek of his frozen face, Silvia spun around and left the quaint shop with the sound of her clicking heels behind her as her hips sashayed.

For who knows how long, Jaune stood there, motionless as his beating heart slowly calmed itself down. Breathing in slowly, he idly noticed the rain water stuck to his clothing had grown cold as he shivered. Though he couldn't tell if his face was cold with rain water or sweat after dealing with Silvia. But he did know one thing.

His collector's figure of Mogar was going to make one nerd happy from their mother's basement.

* * *

Seven o'clock, a time of the day Jaune normally found himself stuck up in his room located at the third floor of his shop, playing video games to pass the time in hopes of staving off the depression of his daily life of being short of cash. But today was different. Today was Monday, the one time of the week he left his shop and went out to pick up supplies to prepare dinner at his favorite family's home.

Despite everything, the bruises he suffered at the hands of a thug, the loss of two clients, and nearly losing his left nut to a woman whose sex appeal reminded him of a spy villain, Jaune found himself smiling brightly as he stood in front of a familiar door. He knocked three times, his smile growing wider as he made out hurried footsteps heading for the door. Dark red hair, big silver eyes, pale skin, and an adorable smile answered immediately as the door swung open.

"Jaune! Oh, I was almost worried that you wouldn't make it today! Last week you missed our weekly dinner because of some job taking you away." the red-haired girl pouted with crossed arms. Jaune gave a small chuckled as he ruffled the short girl's hair with his free hand.

"Sorry about that, Ruby. It was a last-minute job I couldn't refuse. You don't want me living on the streets because I missed my rent, do you?" Jaune said fondly.

Ruby Rose, the short Highschool girl known mostly for her speed and always wearing a red cape everywhere she went, shyly looked away from Jaune in guilt.

"You wouldn't be homeless. You can always come back home." she mumbled to herself as she looked at her feet.

Jaune ruffled Ruby's hair one more time before stepping in and taking off his shoes, "So you've told me countless times. I'm guessing your hoping my business bombs so you can have your favorite blond back home, right?" he said amusingly as she frantically shook her head.

"No! I don't want your business to fail! I'm just saying, in the highly likely event that your landlord kicks you out of your failing business, you don't have to worry about sleeping in the gutters! The Xiao Long/Branwen/Rose household will always have a place for you!" she grinned confidently as Jaune gave her a flat look.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rubes. Really, you just brighten up my day."

The Xiao Long/Branwen/Rose home was a mouthful to say to this day. He chuckled, remembering it had at one time had another name to it months ago. The small three roomed home had once been his home. Under this roof, he had lived his high school days along with Yang Xiao Long, an old gaming buddy he had gamed with over the net from back before he was accepted into Beacon. It was because of her that he even had a place to stay after he had forgotten about the Lien his parents gave him on the bullhead to Vale. From the goodness of her fiery, punny heart, she had taken in a stranger who's voice she was only familiar with into her home with a grin. And from that day forward, he had never been more thankful to a person than Yang.

Of course, his time living under their roof, rent free, had to come to end. He had always felt like he was mooching off the odd, quirky family, just useless space with nowhere to go. So, once he graduated and saved enough money for his own apartment along with two month's rent, he had said good-bye to the kind family with promises to visit every so often.

One mugging later, loss of a job, and a breaking down in front of a drunk man's odd jobs shop, and this was where he found himself. Stubborn pride refused to allow him to crawl back to his friends' home, choosing instead to endure it all as a man.

Now that Jaune had stepped into the home and she got a better look at him, Ruby gasped into her small hands at the bruises over his face. Her fingers flew for the neck of his shirt and roughly pulled him down to her level with a wince and her silver eyes looked him over.

"Jaune! What happened to you? You look like you were jumped in some alley!" she said in alarm, her fingers grazing the one cut on his lip gingerly.

She wasn't completely wrong there, _'More like jumped in a book store. But what's the difference these days?'_

Moving the prodding fingers away, Jaune reassured Ruby with a smile, "Don't worry about it. I just made a wrong turn in the rain and crashed my bike is all!" he said brightly, missing the small girl drop out of his sight, "It's just a few scrapes and bruises. I just need a good night's sleep, and I'll be fine!"

Ruby didn't believe the lie as she stealthily pulled up his shirt and eyed the large mass of blue, yellow, and green skin on his abs, "I'm pretty sure the road is incapable of punching you in the gut repeatedly." she glared.

The feeling of air tickling his bruises brought Jaune's attention to find Ruby, kneeling in front of him with her face dangerously close to his open stomach. How she had learned to be so sneaky, he wished he didn't know. But it seemed Blake was rubbing off on her. He blushed as her glare came off more as a huffy pout, the angle and posture she was currently in not helping in the slightest. It was made even worse with her free hand gripping the belt of his jeans and her hot breath washing over the skin of his lower waist. Why was she even in her bed wear! Did she not understand that her simple black top no longer fit on her seventeen-year-old body!

 _'Stay down, my holy saber! She's fifteen! . . .No, wait that was two years ago… Fuck.'_

Fighting the blush on his face, Jaune pulled down his shirt and moved Ruby's hands away, "I'm telling you I'm fine. Today was just more eventful that I had originally planned." he said stiffly.

Knowing how Jaune could be, Ruby dropped the matter for now with a huff. Prodding him would only make things worse and sadly her cute tactics didn't work as well as they used to as she got older. Instead, she grabbed him by his wrist and dragged him into the house. She did know one way to get him to open up though.

"Fine, don't tell me. Because I'm sure Auntie Raven would want to know about it first." she said with a devious smile. Jaune's heart stopped, his face frozen in horror before he began trying to pry his wrist from the smaller girl's hands.

"How are you this strong!?"

"I drink milk."

All his fighting proved futile as Ruby brought him to the kitchen doorway. It was only then that Jaune's nose finally picked up on the smell of something delicious in the air. His mouth began to water, recognizing the aroma instantly. But his hunger was set aside as his brow twitched in annoyance at the person bending over the oven, their raven haired tied back in a ponytail as they hummed and shook their rear with the beat.

"Auntie Raven, guess who's here~?"

The woman paused her humming, making a noise of surprise before leaving the seasoned dumplings alone and shutting the oven. The woman turned around, her red eyes confused before lighting up in amusement at the sight of the sweating blond boy beside her niece. She smiled kindly as she removed her oven mitts.

"Good evening, Jaune!"

Raven Branwen, mother of Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose's aunt, and twin sister of the very man who left him his job, Qrow Branwen. Single and only 34 years old with raven hair and stunning red eyes. She was a business woman who worked in her own office. She was a few inches shorter than Jaune, wearing a simple dark red blouse underneath her eye stabbing pink apron and a short black skirt. Her eyes were gentle, showing a fondness you would normally find in a mother's eyes. And had a body that would put a teen model to shame. Wide hips, slender waist, and a bust only her daughter could match.

She was the bane of Jaune's existence.

The moment Raven's sight fell on Jaune, she found herself frowning in worry before hastily walking over to the blond teen. Her hands flew for his face, caressing the tinges of trauma skin as she sighed.

"What happened to you, mister? You look like you were jumped in an alleyway." she chided softly as she carefully examined him.

Ruby nodded, her eyes shut as she smiled smugly, "See, that's what I said. He said that he had fallen from his bike in the rain."

Raven's eyes shut halfway in suspicion, the blood red staring deeply into his nervous blue.

"Did he now?" she drawled, clearly not believing the lie.

Jaune gulped as the raven-haired mother began to feel around his body, her frown only growing deeper as her fingers felt the bruises from Drake's slugging. How could you even feel a bruise? Surprisingly, the area she was touching began to lose its soreness, almost as if it was healing under her touch.

How did she do that?

But again, he found his eye twitching as Raven smiled innocently and turned her head to Ruby.

"Ruby, would you mind calling Yang and telling her that dinner will be ready in an hour. Now that Jaune is here, we can get the curry started." she said kindly as Ruby frowned.

"But what about Jaune! He still hasn't told us how he got those bruises! I have questions!"

"Don't worry, Ruby. Jaune just had a rough fall is all. Sometimes you got to have some faith and believe in his word." Raven said softly, "I'll be sure to scold him for his recklessness though. But we have to get dinner going. I'm sure you're dying to have some of Jaune's Special Monday Night Curry."

A rumble from Ruby's stomach agreed. She pouted, still not believing Jaune's poor lie but sighed in defeat. If he didn't want to say anything, then there was nothing she could do. Jaune was too stubborn and prideful to let them in on his problems.

 _'I just had to fall for a stubborn blond. I should have listened to Yang's warning long ago.'_ she pouted and nodded. She narrowed her eyes at Jaune, pointing her finger back between the two in a show of their conversation not being over. With a huff, she spun around and ran back to her room for her scroll. Leaving only Jaune and Raven, alone, in the kitchen.

With Ruby gone, Jaune's face grew a flat stare as he addressed the single mother dryly, "…You can move your hand off my ass now." he said stiffly.

Like a switch, the gentleness and fondness in Raven's soft red eyes faded away, leaving behind sharp, narrowed blood red, smoldering and lustful. The sly hand on his rear gave a guilty squeeze, only further annoying Jaune as the dark-haired temptress grinned widely. Her face grew closer to his own, her lips looking full and glossy as her tongue licked over them sensually.

"Aww, but I'm trying to make you feel better. A 'fall' like that must have hurt you all over. And I just want to make you feel better." she said hotly and she stared intimately into the annoyed blue orbs resisting her flirtations. Honestly, his fighting only made it more fun. She always did love a challenge.

Raven Branwen, single mother, sister to the very man who had gifted him a store, and MILF. Jaune sighed deeply as he pinched the bridge of his brows.

Thing was, Raven had never been like this. At least not to Jaune's knowledge. Long ago, well, four years really, Jaune had moved into the Branwen/Xiao Long household by Yang's kindness, when he had met the raven-haired woman. His first impression of her had been cold, stern, and uncaring to his presence. The only reason she put up with him was because of Yang, her estranged daughter who she wanted to connect with after the death of her first love and father of said blonde girl. It had been an awkward situation, watching the two interact with Raven trying her best to get her daughter to open up to her, and Yang doing her damnedest to shove the woman's, who left her and her father behind, attempts away. Rough was what it had been. Add in Ruby a year later and things had only become more awkward and tense.

Until Jaune finally had enough. He wasn't a therapist or really knew what the hell he was doing at the time, but he had enough with the two's behavior. After two years of having to watch the mess that was their relationship, he had decided to work on fixing things between the two however he could. So, he had done what he could to help remedy their situation.

He had been an idiot, and it wasn't surprising to have walked out of that mess with a busted lip and a black eye. But by some miracle, he had done it. It wasn't much at the time, but he had made the first steps of healing their troubled relationship as mother and daughter.

And Raven had noticed. She had seen what the odd blond boy had done to fix her bond with her daughter. It was rare to find someone who could put up with such a dysfunctional family, let alone a stranger she had only known for two years. Jaune's kindness had helped her to slowly earn the honor of her stubborn daughter and got her to finally start calling her Mom. She could never repay him for what he had done.

But, she supposed that there was one thing she could do to show her appreciation. And it wasn't like she wouldn't mind either. She was a grown woman, she had certain needs that only a man could take care of. And boy's his age always dreamed of such a thing happening to them, fantasizing of a woman like herself in their company and looking up at them on their knees with sultry eyes.

A week later after Jaune had helped Raven and Yang begin mending their relationship, he found himself walking back to the small home alone as Yang and Ruby went out for ice cream after Raven had messaged him to talk to him privately. He had shrugged, not seeing anything wrong with that other than it being a little odd. When he had opened the door and walked in, his senses screamed at him to turn back and run for the hills as the door was locked tightly. Slender arms had snaked around his neck from behind and an amused, sultry chuckle had tickled the lobes of his ear as a curvy body pressed itself against his locked up back.

On that day, Jaune's life had only gotten more difficult as he found himself in the eyes of a horny, lonely, single mother. And it had taken every ounce of strength and virtue to escape Raven's advances for the remaining days in the Branwen/Xiao Long/Rose household.

"I feel fine, Raven. If anything, you're just aggravating my injuries." he sucked in a breath as the raven-haired temptress pressed herself closer to his body. Her left hand moved slowly from his healing abdomen, raking his skin through the fabric of his soaked hoodie until they fell teasingly to his belt buckle. Her finger gave the buckle a tug as her free hand flew to the ribbon of her ponytail and let loose her wild, raven locks. Her sultry red eyes wouldn't leave his own as Jaune gulped stiffly.

"You know, I don't like to be lied to. Especially by you of all people. But even more so, I don't like it when someone has the gall to harm someone I care deeply about." her sharp eyes narrowed dangerously as the fingers gripping his belt buckle scratched his lower waist. Jaune licked his lips nervously as Raven's thumb stroked his cheek affectionately, her eyes going soft as her lips drew dangerously close to his own as she whispered.

"Just tell me their name, and I swear, they'll never dare harm you ever again."

Jaune nervously scratched the back of his head as he tried to laugh the matter off, "I keep telling you Raven, I had a bad fall while riding my bike! If someone did beat me up, I would have called the police. Seriously, you worry too much." he smiled, still sweating with the position he found himself in.

Raven frowned at the poor excuse. Jaune was not known as a good liar. But he was stubborn. She sighed begrudgingly as she dropped the matter for now. Eventually, she'd break him down. In more ways than one. In the end, he was fine and that was all that mattered. Well, fine physically. She couldn't exactly call his financial situation well or his unsure future.

The next time her idiot brother stopped by, he was going to be answering a lot of questions.

"Fine, if that's what you want to keep telling yourself."

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief as Raven pouted and dropped the matter. He had a lot of unpleasant things to say about Drake, but he wasn't going to send a single mother knocking down his doorstep. And for some reason, he had a scary feeling that Raven was not joking.

With that done with, Jaune was hoping that they could finally move and get to cooking. It was Monday night, the one time of the week he had promised to visit the little family and spend dinner with them. And after he had missed out on last week's plans, he was aiming to make up for it with his big sister's special curry. But said plans would be delayed as his belt was loosened and a certain someone's frisky hands tickled the fabric of his boxers. Jaune's right eye twitched as he glared at Raven, innocently smiling as she gave a small tug.

"…Does 'No' mean nothing to you?" he said weakly as he fought to control his breathing. He gulped as Raven laughed softly and grabbed his hand. She led it to her chest, forcing his fingers to give her a light squeeze as she bit her lip with a small moan.

"What? Can't we have a little fun? What we're doing isn't wrong and I know that others would kill to be in your position." she huskily moaned with a lick of her lips, "I'm just repaying a kindness. And if you're so against this, why not say so?"

"I have said so! Numerous times! I just said no!"

"That's not what your dick is saying~!"

Jaune growled in frustration as he pulled his hair. God damn it! She had him there. No matter how many times he wanted to push her away, he couldn't deny the fact she was sexy! If he had no sense of morals, this wouldn't have been a problem. He would have taken her then and there when she had first proposed having some naughty fun. Except living with mostly females had given him a strong moral compass and respect for woman. Plus, there was one big problem that came with sleeping with Raven.

"Guess who's home, bitches!"

The sound of the door slamming open and a boisterous yell had Raven withdrawing her hand from reaching Jaune's stiff erection in a blink of an eye. With unbelievable speed, she had fixed back her hair, buttoned up her blouse, and fixed her skirt properly before painting on a kind, gentle smile. The seductive raven-haired woman who had been ready to take him to cloud nine had left for the night, and replaced her with a kind and nurturing mother.

 _'I swear to god, she could be an actor.'_ How the hell was Raven able to effortlessly switch personalities like that?

Within a few seconds, Yang Xiao Long walked into the kitchen and found her lavender eyes beaming at the messy head of blond hair standing by her mother. She grinned as she ran over, throwing her bag to the side as she brought the lovable goof in for a hug.

"Lover Boy! It's about time you dropped by! I almost thought that you forgot about us." she pouted playfully as she glared at Jaune. He smiled back in apology.

"I don't think I could forget about you guys. You'd find me and beat the memory back into me if I did."

"I'd curb stomp your ass!" Yang grinned brightly before grabbing his head and rubbing her knuckle furiously on his skull. Jaune winced as he endured the noogie, knowing he had it coming. He hadn't really spoken to her for a whole week, too busy to even stop by her workplace and say a simple hello.

Currently, Yang was dressed in a simple waitress uniform, indicating that she had just gotten off work. She dropped her playful rough housing and stepped back, allowing him to get a better look of his best friend for the past six years. It was scary how much she took after her mother, appearing like a younger, more playful Raven with the exception of her lavender eyes and long lustrous yellow hair. At least he now knew where Yang got her flirtatious side from.

Raven sighed at her daughter's antics as she let go of her wincing prey.

"Yang, please be careful with Jaune. He just had a nasty fall. You should know he bruises easily." she chided.

"I do not! Stop comparing me to a banana!"

At the mention of Jaune's fall, Yang finally noticed the fading bruises over Jaune's visible skin. She huffed as she punched his shoulder, earning a yelp from her first best friend.

"Still as clumsy as ever, huh? Even though you're the owner of your own shop, you're still the same old Jaune who can't even get a date. Not even with a girl who obviously likes him." she said mirthfully as Jaune glared at her with a grumble.

"I'm not that obliviou-"

"Pyrrha."

"…I'll shut up now."

Laughing at the old joke to a certain red head, Yang gently ruffled Jaune's hair. After a long day of work, it was nice to be talking with her old bestie. With how life had been going for them both, it wasn't easy for them to find time to hang out anymore. Guess that was the life of an adult.

The smell of something cooking in the oven brought a growl from Yang's stomach as she was reminded of the fact she had missed out on lunch. Turning to Raven she gave the woman hopeful eyes to what was being prepared. The sight was adorable to the raven-haired mother as she smirked.

"Yes, we're having your favorite Shrimp Fried rice along with seasoned pork dumplings and curry for dinner tonight. Along with some of Summer's famous cookies."

"Ma, if you weren't my mother, I'd kiss you right now! Tongue and everything!"

"I know you would." she chuckled softly before turning back to said dinner. "Now, why don't you get yourself ready for dinner? The rice and dumplings are almost done, all that's left is for Jaune to prepare the curry and the cookies to cool. Now hurry up, you smell like a hard day's work. That's not an attractive smell."

Yang stuck her tongue out to her mother's back playfully before turning to do as she said. She needed to wash and fix her hair anyways. Before she left for her room though, she winked back at Jaune.

"Hurry up and finish dinner, Lover Boy! Because this dragon's starving!"

She was never going to let that old nickname die, was she? Well it was better than Ruby's. Lover Boy sounded a thousand times better than Vomit Boy.

With a begrudging sigh, Jaune spun back for the kitchen and fell beside Raven. His hands quickly fell for the chef knife and went to chop the vegetables and spices for the curry. Raven found her eyes falling on the blond boy, intently focused on his preparations and smiled.

For a split second, Jaune's skin darkened slightly to a tanner shade in her sight, his blond locks grew shaggy and he grew some fuzz on his chin, making him look gruffer and mature. Jaune met her gaze and smiled back, his face replaced by an old memory.

"Raven?"

She shook it off with a small smile to hide the somberness in her eyes.

"Hmm? Is there something you need?" she asked with a teasing arch of her brow as she wiggled her chest.

Jaune frowned but decided to drop it. No need to sour the night.

"Nah, it's nothing. . .and will you please keep your hands to yourself?"

"You're no fun."

* * *

Cheeks puffing out slightly as he fought a satisfied burp, Jaune dropped his head back as he stared at the starry night sky. There was nothing better than a family dinner after a day like today. It was nice to spend time with his favorite family in the city. Especially now that he no longer lived with them. He was his own man now, with his own problems to deal with. No need to drag them into his troubles.

Still though, they butted into his affairs. Digging into the pockets of his jeans, he pulled out two slips of papers with addresses and scroll numbers to contact later, courtesy of both Yang and Raven. He didn't like people helping him, but he wouldn't pass up a chance to earn another client today, not after losing two already. Money was money after all.

Speaking of which, he was at least happy to now have some Lien back into his account. Borrowing Ruby's laptop really quick, Jaune went to work on selling one of his collectables for a pretty penny. More than enough to pay off what he owed Silvia and then some. Even with the defect worrying him on the action figure, he was overjoyed to find out it only made it more valuable. Now he didn't have to worry about losing one of his boys to the snake woman. For this month.

Jaune dragged out a tired sigh as he scratched the side of his head, "Sometimes I wonder if I should have gone home after Highschool. I wouldn't have had to deal with all this crap if I did." he grumbled to himself, kicking a battered soda can around as he headed home. "Things were so much easier when I let everyone help me."

But Jaune grew tired of being cuddled like he couldn't do a thing for himself. It was why he had left for a school far from home. So, he could make something of himself, by himself. Lot good that was doing him though.

Well, he had gone this far already. No point in whining and calling quits. His mother didn't raise a quitter.

The alarming sounds of multiple sirens going off at the distance caught Jaune's attention and he frowned at the sight of blue and red lights coming closer. Several police cruisers suddenly sped past him, kicking up a tussling wind that blew back his locks. Jaune squinted as he looked after the vanishing sirens curiously. He shrugged, paying it no mind as he went on home.

"Guess something must have gone down. Count my blessings I'm not heading that way."

He chuckled to himself while making a mental note to contact the possible employment offers he received.

It looked like he found himself with some luck today.

* * *

Dark clouds gathered overhead as a small figure ran the dark alleyways. Trashcans were thrown out of the way as stray cats hissed and jumped out of the way of the human running past them in a hurry. The sirens were growing closer, causing them to pick up their speed.

But exhaustion won out as the figure found themselves tripping over several pieces of trash and twisted their ankle. The figure hit the ground with a thud that caused several trashcans nearby to fall over them. Hidden by a bed of litter, the several flashlights peeking into the scene passed over them and left with fading hurried footsteps and angry shouts. Their heavy blue eye shut, happy to have lost their pursuers as they felt their strength fade.

The drop of rain hit the blanket of trash over their body, sliding down to soak their rusty red hair. The girl couldn't fight much longer and found herself slipping into unconsciousness.

"Mission. . .failed."

* * *

 _ **In a world with no Grimm, no Huntsman, and the world in 'peace', what kind of story can be told? Stories of great warriors and dark creatures have been left forgotten. Heroes no longer walk the earth. Your Soul can no longer protect you.**_

 _ **But Souls manifest themselves no matter how hard you try to hide them.**_

 _ **Fate has reared its head. But you have a chance to avoid it.**_

 _ **Will you?**_

 **And there we have it! A Jaune of all Trades, an AU/Modern fic set in a world where the world has fallen into peace after The Great War. A true peace where the darkness that has threatened mankind and faunus has vanished. There is no need for Huntsman or Huntresses anymore.**

 **But Negativity still exists. And shadows still linger.**

 **All of which Jaune knows nothing about. He's too worried about a certain raven sinking her teeth into him.**

 **This story is a mix of two of my favorite mangas, Gintama and Hitman Reborn. They have greatly influenced the story when I had first played around with the idea after the revelation of Blake and Weiss's mothers still breathing. Funny how ideas are born, huh? This is of course an Adventure/Humor fic with a good amount of Action and some Romance thrown in. Of course I have lots to say about the fic, but I don't want to spoil anything. My One-shot does plenty of that already. But that was a one-shot, not everything that made it there will be in the fic. A lot has changed since then, so there is much ahead.**

 **I will say this, to those I know will ask. This is a Harem of sorts. Don't take too seriously, it's mostly for comedic effect and does work with the story. The final pairing is a secret. Which means only one thing; PLACE YOUR BETS! Times like this I just gamble about the pairings, like what I do with RWBY now.**

 **If you got any questions, leave a Review! And if your new to my stories, check out Multiplayer. It's a Gamer fic, but trust me, it's nothing like you've seen before. Plus it's not littered with Stats and numbers.**

 **Now, I got to go. I got some sexy highschool girls fighting monsters to watch.**

 **Reand and Review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	2. Rain Drops

**NeoShadows here with a new chapter of A Jaune of All Trades!**

 **Been a while, I know. But I didn't want to update until I had more chapters finished. At least that was the plan. Seeing as it's taking a while for Multiplayer to be updated as I wait for my Beta to finish editing the chapters, I decided to update something. I'm to find so many people already reading the story. So, let's get some reviews out of the way first.**

 **AZalmega: I am no genius, but please, go on! No, really, keep up the praise. I feed on it. As for your guess, NOPE! It's someone from RWBY and she was revealed in the oneshot. You'll find out in this chapter. Ah, JaunexRaven, one of my favorite pairings. I forget what the ship name is, I just wish there was more of it out there. I won't say anything on the pairing, it's a secret.**

 **That Guy: Good to know you're alright. Damn, you're trooper. I'll be sure to give you a hell of story and hope you love it.**

 **MadKing of Madness: I have something in mind for that. We'll see.**

 **Command8: Nice to find a fan of Gintama. God, I love that story. Eh, I rather have redbean covered anpan.**

 **Lordrednight: This is my first time working with an AU, so I hope I can make this work while staying true to the source material. Glad to know I still stuck to character despite it being AU, especially in keeping Jaune as Jaune. Hopefully I don't overdue it with the OC's. Oh, and one of the OC's you mentioned isn't an OC, she an actual character. Surprised no one realized who she is. But that's also a good thing. And no spoilers to your question at my ending lines. You'll just have to see for yourself.**

 **Googlemo: Meh, to each their own. I love those two for their action and comedy.**

 **Jaune Black Smudge: I have plans for the pairings, but nothing is set in stone. As for the harem, I don't know. It's one of those things that sounds fun, but is actually hard to work as believable. Maybe if I can ever work something out I could do something like that in a future story. For now, you'll just have to be teased relentlessly. Which in my opinion is just as fun. V5? I actually love it. I know not many people like it, but I actually enjoy it. The fights are well done and more realistic, it had me surprised here and there, and I just enjoy it. It's gotten much better story wise, though I do see some problems as well. I'm guessing it would look much better watched as a whole instead of episodes. As for the story suggestion, I'll take a look at it sometime. And thanks for the Favorite and Follow.**

 **Alright, reviews are out of the way! I believe I got a story to give you. Hope you like it. Oh! And stick to the very end of the chapter, I got a surprise for you all.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** _ **I do not own the rights to RWBY, they belong to RoosterTeeth. Now, if you would excuse me, I got to try and settle my broken heart. I'm not so Oki Doki after finding a free game on Steam.**_

 _ **It was suppose to be a simple highschool dating sims based on my favorite subject, Literature!**_

 _ **Eh, despite the nightmares, they had a pretty good OST. And hot girls.**_

 _ **. . .Just Monika.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Rain Drops.**

The loud ringing of an alarm abruptly cut off Jaune from his sweet dream as he awoke with a groan. And it was such an epic dream too! Sitting up against his better wishes, Jaune tried to recall the already fading dream as he pried off his blanket. It was something about sexy teenagers fighting monsters in highschool.

Rubbing his eyes tiredly to get rid of the usual eye gunk, Jaune looked back to the alarm blaring from his Scroll. The timer read 5:20a.m. Usually he wouldn't be up until six in the morning but with the threat of Silvia coming after him if he didn't have her money in the next three hours he had to wake up early. He needed to stop by the ATM to get the last of the Lien he owed the snake faunus. Jaune sighed and let his head fall back to his mattress, not giving the sound of squeaking springs any mind as he looked up at the ceiling.

With his prized collector's figurine sold, he now had about 731 Lien in his Checking Account. Jaune owed Silvia about 400 Lien, plus the late fee he knew she was going to add in at the last moment. Today was also the 12th. Which meant his bills for electricity, water, and service orders for the store were due in 18 days. Jaune was at least thankful that rent for his shop was due on the tenth of the month. All in all, he owed about 550 more Lien by the end of the month or risk more late fees. Or worse, cancellation. He had 300 Lien left after paying his landlord what he owed, so that meant he simply needed to make about 220 Lien in the next 18 days. But then he groaned and smacked his head as he remembered having to buy groceries, paying for clean clothes, and any other sudden expenses that could pop up during the day. That meant adding in another 3-4 hundred to his expenses.

"Funny how good at math I've become now that I'm out of school." Jaune laughed weakly. All those calculations would have been helpful back when he actually needed them. He had learned more from Qrow than he ever did in school.

After yesterday's events, he now had two empty slots in his work schedule. So, it looked like he was going to be using up his free time searching for more work wherever he could.

Knowing that he couldn't lay in bed forever, Jaune kicked off his sheets and moved to get ready for the day.

Crow's Nest was a three-level building. There was the basement level that held all the stores supplies and miscellaneous items along with mysteries even Jaune hadn't discovered yet. The first floor above that was the store front. It was where business was held. There was the storefront itself where he sold random items from snacks, drinks, magazines, even smokes. The back of that front was what he liked to call the business lounge. It was a room that was nicely furnished by Qrow where clients could walk back and discuss jobs he would offer as a service. And next to that would be a nice little office where other matters would be attended; scheduling, counting Lien, managing wages, things that Jaune himself hadn't really done since he was always in the red. And finally, the top floor was the living space where Jaune always went to after work hours were over.

The top floor had about six rooms for personal use. Other than Jaune's room, they were pretty much empty or filled with boxes of random items leftover by Qrow. Along with the rooms, the floor held a living room space and a small kitchen. It was no wonder the place cost 2,100 Lien. Hell, he would have thought he would have to pay double for all the space.

Jaune's room was pretty sparse. In his room, he had an old bed he had bought cheap for 200 Lien, a small twenty-inch tv that wasn't even hologram, a beaten up red gaming beanbag, some posters from his favorite comics and shows, a few collectibles he had bought before his present situation, and the latest gaming console he had received as a gift from his mother a year ago. The walls were painted black and the ceiling was red, an odd color choice for a room but then again it had all belonged to Qrow. Despite his circumstances, Jaune was at least thankful for the roof over his head. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than most in his situation.

Yawning into his hand again, Jaune moved over to the closet on the side of his tv. Slipping off his favorite Pumpkin Pete's onesie, he hastily threw on one of his casual white shirt, dark blue track pants, and a blue hoodie. His eyes did wander over to his cherished black Pumpkin Pete's hood before shaking his head with a fond lift of his lips.

He was too old for such childish things. Which was kinda hypocritical when he was still sleeping in his baby blue onesie.

A quick stop to the bathroom later, Jaune moved onto the kitchen to start breakfast. But as he opened the fridge, he wasn't surprised to find only a gallon of milk, a few eggs, cheese, ham, and a bottle of ketchup greeting his rumbling stomach. Jaune sighed, shutting the fridge before turning to the cupboards above. He was fighting with himself to go out and buy some groceries to finally fully stock his fridge for once, but knew it was better to save what little he had. Thankfully the people of Mistral created one of god's greatest cheap gifts to buy in bulk.

Jaune grinned as he moved over to the top shelf to the side and opened it to find several cups of noodles greeting him. Instant Mistralian Ramen, the food of cheap ass kings!

"Hmm, pork, beef, chicken, spicy chicken, spicy chicken with lime, shrimp, or spicy shrimp? There are so many options, I can't choose!" Jaune moved his eyes over the many flavors of ramen in conflict. Making up his mind, Jaune grabbed the last cup of Pork Ramen and set it down on the kitchen table. He then went back to the fridge to grab one of the few eggs he had leftover over before grabbing a small pot and filling it with water. An old tasty trick he learned online was to add in an egg to the soup once you added the noodles and seasoning to make it more filling and tasty. With that done he headed downstairs for his sneakers and left out the door.

Seeing as it was still early in the morning, the sky was still dark and the moon was out and about in place of the sun. Key in hand, Jaune made sure to lock the store up and hopped onto his bike before riding off to the nearest ATM. There was one just about half a mile away, so it wouldn't take too long.

The early morning silence gave Jaune some time to think, something he found himself doing a lot lately. His mind wandered over to his ever-present finances. Running a freelance service by himself wasn't going to get him anywhere. He was always running short on Lien and found it harder to take care of himself. Just how long was he going to keep this up? When Jaune had first taken Qrow up on his offer, he hadn't really thought much about the future of the deal. He just wanted to have a place of his own without mooching off anyone else. But four months in as an owner of a shop that tried to do just about anything, Jaune was realizing that he wasn't going to get anywhere this way.

Jaune had to think about his future more in depth now. He couldn't run Crow's Nest forever. While Qrow did his best in teaching him what he could before he left to god knows where, it wasn't enough to help in running the business profitable. It simply came down to the fact that he didn't have any experience and this wasn't something he could fake it until he made it. He couldn't make a healthy living like this. It was time to think about what he truly wanted to do with his life.

But what exactly was he going to do with his life now? That was always the question at the back of Jaune's mind. It wasn't as if he was useless. He liked to consider himself a jack of all trades. It came with living with a big family of nine. He had learned so much from living with mostly women, from cleaning, cooking, sewing, dancing, and hair styling. Skills that most men didn't really bother with. And Jaune had begun learning about finances since running a business. It was an odd little gift he liked to think of, being able to learn the basics of certain talents from the people around him. But that was about it, he knew the basics and then some. He wasn't an expert like most. The only thing he liked to think he mastered was dancing, but that was something he was a little embarrassed about.

There was one thing he did want to do. A dream he had since he was a little kid. A dream that even one of his sisters shared with equal passion. One born from watching their father do what he loved. A dream that would make him out to be a warrior, just like his great grandfather, his grandfather, his father, and-

 _'PLEASE! Not you, not you too. I don't want to lose my little Jaune too.'_

Without realizing it, Jaune found himself stopping in front of an ATM next to a gas station. His fist clenched the handles of his bike as he stared ahead somberly. The sounds of several cars passing through and the gentle wind along with the ding of the gas station's door swinging open filled the air. Jaune's thoughts were a mess as he tried to settle down his beating heart. He tried shutting his eyes to find some peace from all the memories playing his head.

But it was pointless. Jaune could still make out a small photo frame. Decorated with black ribbons with little stuffed animals standing in front of the picture along with some yellow daisies. The picture of a young woman, in her early twenties, with golden haired tied back in a ponytail and blue eyes with a heart shaped face stared back at him with a small gentle smile.

Letting out a deep breath, Jaune slowly opened his eyes and got off his bike. He walked over to the ATM, reached into his wallet for his debt card, and waited for his Lien to be dispensed before hopping back on his bike and riding away.

Sometimes, some dreams had to be let go.

* * *

"Hmm? Well, they don't appear to be counterfeit. But then again, you could have someone who specializes in counterfeit. You are an odd jobs shop, maybe one of those jobs could be counterfeit?"

Once again, Jaune fought with himself not to lose his patience and say something he shouldn't to the muscular black suited man standing in front of his counter. Several cards of colorful Lien were shuffled with scrutiny in the suited man's large hands, eyeing each one for any signs of illegitimacy.

"Trust me, they're real. And why would I make fake Lien now when I could have done that yesterday? Plus, I think you're giving me too much credit. I'm not some mastermind criminal." Jaune said tersely as he crossed his chest.

The suited goon paused for a second then nodded in agreement. Done with his inspection, the man rested his dark shades over his eyes again before pocketing the Lien safely in his suit.

"Just making sure is all, Mr. Arc. Ms. Constrict is unfortunately busy at the moment with some business that had reared its head at the last second. She won't be around to deal with you for a couple of weeks, so she left me in charge of dealing with you." the suited goon said sternly as he reached into his suit again.

The man was unlike the other muscle heads that trailed behind Silvia. He was six feet tall, wore the usual business suit that strained with his muscled build, and had dark skin. The man was shaved bald and had a goatee. But unlike the other goons, the intimidating man had an odd smooth metal rectangle on the right side of his forehead. The metal piece was engraved with a familiar insignia of a gear and lance.

Atlas. From what Jaune remembered, the metal on the man's forehead was a piece of technology from Atlas that was commonly used in prosthetic. It served as a signal to the brain from the mechanic prosthetic to control. Atlas was widely known for its advances in technology and science, being one of the leading engineers in robotics.

Taking out his scroll, the suited man pointed its back to Jaune as he spoke.

"For the time being you will be dealing with me in matters concerning your rental property. My name is Faule Metze, one of Ms. Constrict's personal guards. Please provide your contact information, Mr. Arc so that our future dealings will go along smoothly." Faule said stoically.

Jaune nodded and he faced the back of his Scroll to the mamba black device. The green diamond on the back of Faule's Scroll lit up as did Jaune's standard white and gold diamond, sending their contact information between the two before registering the contacts with a ding. Done with that, Faule pocketed his Scroll before speaking again.

"The next rental payment is due on the tenth of the next month as always. Please be sure to provide the correct amount due or you will suffer more than a late payment this time around." Faule narrowed his eyes slightly behind his sunglasses with a slight edge in his voice. Jaune nodded feverishly with a nervous smile.

"I'll be sure to pay on time this time, I swear."

Faule didn't say much more as his back was already turned to the blond and headed out the door. His business here was over, there was no need to stick around any longer.

Glad to be done with his rental business, Jaune turned his attention back to another important matter. Breakfast. It had been half an hour since he got up and grabbed the Lien he owed Silvia, but to his surprise and annoyance his landlord had sent someone over to pick up the last bit of his rent early. Apparently, she was busy now and wanted it over with. But at least he now had nothing to worry about. He could go back to his struggling business in peace with a slightly cooled down cup of delicious pork ramen topped off with a boiled egg. Grabbing the still steaming noodle cup, he walked over to the see-through fridge next to the counter for a bottle of milk. Again, one of the perks of running his own business, free snacks and drinks. It was just too bad it would be coming out of his own pocket. Idly, he noticed he was down to two bottles of milk. But today was Tuesday and the problem would be fixed shortly.

"Good morning, Mr. Arc!"

Speak of the devil.

The bell to the front door rang, signaling the arrival of a possible guest. But Jaune recognized the energetic voice anywhere by now. Looking to the door he found a young busty woman walking in with a small trolley of glass bottles filled with milk. The woman's curled end hair fell to her shoulder, cupcake pink in color that reminded him of milk mixed with a hint of strawberry. She wore a blue overall over a simple yellow shirt, muddy boots, and oddly enough a rope coiled as her belt. But that wasn't the most distinctive thing on her. On her tailbone swished a black and white spotted tail tipped with a pink cream brush of hair. Wheeling in the cart, the woman spun around and grinned widely at Jaune, her action causing the golden bells tied on the sides of her hair to jingle.

Jaune smiled back at the woman as he stepped closer with his breakfast in hand.

"Good morning, Creme! It's nice to see your bright grin first thing in the morning." Jaune said fondly as the cow faunus woman handed him a clipboard.

Creme nodded happily at the blond, her tail swishing back and forth in a blur.

"Aww, you flatter me, Mr. Arc! It's good to see you up and early too! Not too many city-folk wake up as early as you do with a smile on their face." Creme said brightly with a country drawl as Jaune handed her back the papers for his order.

 _'Well, dad did say to greet a woman with a smile no matter how lousy you were feeling.'_ Jaune thought to himself tiredly.

Creme Bell was a cow faunus woman and one of the first and only business contracts he had found since he had taken over the freelance shop. All the stock he had in shop from the candy, chips, pastries, and newspapers were provided by previous contracts from Qrow and it was up to Jaune to keep up with the bills on said shipments. He had been late on said shipment payments, so it was no surprise that the companies weren't fond of him. But Creme was different. The Bell family was fairly new to the business world and was its own family run business that sold home grown produce. They didn't have many contracts since they had only just opened but their stuff was top quality in Jaune's opinion. And they were dedicated and passionate. The farm they grew everything on was miles away from the city, but they went the literal miles to deliver their products to stores who signed up with them. Crow's Nest was one of those few stores, though Jaune could only pay for a shipment of fresh milk.

Even when he was late on paying their shipment order they weren't bitter about it. They were understanding. Especially their delivery girl, Creme. The sweetest woman he had met since Ruby.

"Thanks again for the usual order, Creme. And you don't have to worry about any late payments this month! I should be able to pay your family in full by the thirtieth." Jaune smiled confidently. With the extra Lien leftover from selling his collector's item it looked like he would be able to just make it to paying his bills off with no late payments.

Sad that the only way Jaune could pay off his late bills was by selling his treasured items.

Hearing that, Creme bounced on her feet in joy with a pleased grin. Which caused physics to do wondrous things to her chest. Jaune forced himself not to look down as the cream pink woman's chest bounced with the jingle of her hair bells.

"That's wonderful! Papa was starting to worry that you would have to cancel your contract with us because you couldn't make ends meet. But I said NO! I knew that Mr. Arc would pull himself out of his rut and start succeeding!" Creme said pumping her fist with gusto.

 _'I ain't exactly doing any better than I started.'_ Jaune thought bitterly while keeping up his smile. If this kept up he was going to have to sell all his collectibles to stay in business.

Speaking of doing well, Creme gasped in realization before reaching into one of the pockets of her overalls.

"That reminds me! I just got an offer from a nice gentleman about a partnership with his company and my family's. Our little business is starting to pick up too! It won't be long until all the supermarkets in Vale are selling Bell Farm's produce!" Creme gushed happily as her tail swished around. Taking out the slip of paper with the man's information, she proudly displayed it to Jaune like a hard-earned medal.

Jaune rose an eyebrow in suspicion, finding only a Scroll number on the slip.

"Is that it? He didn't give you any information on his company or even its name?"

Creme shook her head with her ever present smile.

"Nope! But he did say to contact him so that we could meet up and discuss our partnership somewhere private. Apparently, he also deals with milk and promised to give me a taste of his personally made milk! He said I would love it and that he would even show me his prized foot long sausages!" she said excitedly with stars in her eyes.

An angry twitch unnoticed to Creme developed in Jaune's eye.

There came the only problem Jaune had found with Creme. The faunus woman was a country girl. She lived in a small community that saw one another as family. So, she was completely innocent to the outside world. A farm girl like her was easy pickings in the city of Vale and her trust would be abused by the sleaziest roach on the street. It was kinda sad when a twenty-year-old woman was more oblivious and innocent than someone like Ruby.

Jaune liked to consider himself a gentleman. Living under a house with seven sisters taught him it was his job to protect the woman in his life however he could from creeps and perverts despite being weak. Which was why he snatched the slip of paper away without a second thought from Creme's hand. The cow girl could only watch with a surprised gasp as Jaune tore the number to shreds.

Creme's green eyes watered and sniffed at the scraps of a hopeful business venture fell to the ground.

"Why, Mr. Arc?" Creme whimpered like a hurt puppy.

"Trust me, Creme. That guy is no good. I've heard about his company, they don't treat their workers right and their products are terrible." Jaune huffed with a scowl on his face.

Cleaning her face of her tears, Creme looked at Jaune in awe, "You got all that from his contact number? Wow, you really are amazing, Mr. Arc!" she clapped her hands in amazement.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go with that." Jaune said with an exhausted smile. "Just a suggestion, why don't you stay away from strangers handing you numbers with weird smiles on their faces. Besides, I don't think you guys need to partner with other companies, your stuff's top quality to me."

Creme pouted but nodded. Jaune seemed like a smart guy. He ran his own business after all and he was only eighteen! That said a lot about him, he must have known his way around the business world.

"Fine. I guess I should leave all the fancy business stuff to Papa. I'm at least happy that the one and only contract I've gotten has held up this long." she said happily.

As much as Creme would have liked to stick around and talk with Jaune, she had more deliveries to head to. With the paperwork done, Creme headed out the door while waving a goodbye to her favorite client.

"Have a good day, Mr. Arc! See ya next week!" she winked before leaving with the ring of the bells behind her.

"I swear that girl is too innocent for her own good. She's more suited as a dog faunus than a cow." Jaune said, thoroughly amused as he shook his head. Well the milk her family sold was top quality and did net him some decent Lien. With a mental note to message Ruby that he had a fresh stock of Bell Farm Milk at his shop, Jaune went to work on unpacking.

The day was still early and he had a lot of work to do. While he was at it, he might as well look into the job contacts Yang and Raven handed him the other night. With the order away, Jaune headed to the register to wait for any customers to wander in. He had a few hours seeing as he didn't have a job to head to, might as well see if he could make some cash on the front.

"Hmm?" Jaune blinked as he stared out the window of his shop. Water began to slide down the glass and the pitter-patter of rain caught his attention. It looked like it was going to be raining again. And rain meant random guests wandering in for drinks or snacks from school and work. He could already make out the sounds of a car pulling over.

"Looks like it just might be my lucky day today." Jaune grinned brightly as the door opened and he greeted the first guest of the day.

Jaune had a good feeling about today.

* * *

The morning was coming to an end as the clock hit twelve. With a satisfied grin on his face, Jaune shut the drawer to the cash register as it let out a pleasant _'ka-ching!_ '.

Despite the gloomy weather and heavy rain outside, business was busier than usual. It was as if god had finally heard his prayer and decided to throw him a bone for once. Compared to most businesses, the rush that had arrived this morning wasn't much to go giddy over. But most businesses were at least well off not to worry too much about a slow day. Or days. Or month…s.

Today though, Jaune had counted at least 23 guests! A new record! In total he had made about 85.25 Lien in the last six hours since opening early. If this kept up he might just be able to spoil himself a little this week. Sadly, he was going to have to close up the front counter for the next four hours. With a grumble he walked over to the counter and grabbed a small black remote with only two buttons. Pressing the big red button, the Open sign on the front window blinked and shut off.

As much as he would have liked to continue running the register for anymore guests wandering in by chance, Jaune had an appointment in the next half hour. While he was on register he had taken a few moments to call up on one of the numbers he had been given the other night. After speaking to the man on the other line of the Scroll and bringing up Yang as his referral, Jaune had been given a chance for some part time work at a construction site in the inner city of Vale. If he recalled right, Vale was in the middle of several construction projects to replace some of the broken down and abandoned sites. Which meant they were looking for some people who were willing to work in hard labor.

Jaune didn't know how Yang knew of anyone who worked in construction and just chalked it up to Yang being Yang. The girl knew just about anyone, she was a social creature. He was just glad to have found a chance for more work and more money. Even if it meant he would be lifting heavy objects, shoveling dirt, working with power tools that could potentially maim him, or suffer in the hot sun with a bunch of muscled men who smelled worse than his two-week-old shirts. Hard earned Lien was hard earned lien.

Dropping the small remote back in its drawer, Jaune reached for the keys to his shop before running up the stairs quickly. If he was going to make a good first impression, he needed to smell and look his best! Which wasn't much seeing as he didn't own anything fancy like a suit and tie. He would just have to stick with what he was wearing, comb his hair, and put on some cologne. With his little clean up done with, Jaune ran back down and walked over to the fridge full of drinks for one of his favorite soda's, Everybody Loves Grape. He grinned as he opened the can and the sound of fizzing purple foam greeted him. He gulped down the caffeinated beverage while checking the time on his Scroll. Curiously, he noticed a new message on his scroll and clicked on it as he walked out the door.

'Good afternoon, Mr. Arc. This is Allen Moore messaging you that I'll have to cancel our lessons for the day. I'll be in the office all day today after the events of yesterday, so I won't be home to continue the next lesson. I apologize for the abrupt cancellation and hope we can still continue on some later time next week. It looks like we'll be covering this story for a few days.'

Locking the door behind him, Jaune groaned. Mr. Moore was a news editor for some online news company he had found on Krieg's List. When Jaune had begun running Crow's Nest he had gone online and posted his services to look for clients. One of his services had been dance classes and Mr. Moore had been looking for a cheap instructor. The man wanted to surprise his wife on their next anniversary by sweeping her off her feet. Every Tuesday and Thursday Jaune would come over to Mr. Moore's home while his wife was away to teach him a new dance. The editor paid decently and was very polite if not a little nervous and clumsy.

But it looked like he was going to be busy this whole week. There went a hundred Lien in an instant. Jaune's curiosity was piqued by the mention of yesterday's event. Did something happen? He scratched his head and he walked around his shop's front to the alleyway next to it that separated his own building with the others on each side. Finding his bike chained securely to the railing that led to the second level and the living space, Jaune unlocked it while messing around with his Scroll. He might as well look up whatever had taken away one of his clients.

Opening up the browser on his device, Jaune quickly found the news site that his client worked at. The top story for the site popped up and with a headline that caused Jaune's blue eyes to widen in disbelief.

 **'Attempted Assassination of Vacuo Diplomat Oxford Mane Thwarted.'**

There had been an attempted assassination yesterday? Jaune clicked on the news article, his eyes taking in every word as he sat for a moment on his bike.

Apparently at around eight thirty-two pm, an unknown sniper had taken aim at the diplomat when he had been stepping out of his guarded limousine outside his hotel. By some fluke the sniper's bullet had missed as the diplomat bent over to tie his shoe of all things. Sadly, while the shot had missed Oxford Mane it had found itself two targets. The sniper must have accounted for the two guards by his side and aimed for an impossible shot that would have gone through all of their heads. Oxford had been lucky to survive, but his personal guards had not. Panic and fear had enveloped all those close by as the crowds of people welcoming the diplomat had scrambled to escape the gunman's sights.

Another shot had been fired in the panic, but while it had missed killing Oxford it did shatter his kneecap and render him handicapped. In the midst of it all the sniper had escaped despite police pursuit. An ongoing investigation has begun and any information on the assassin could be handed to the police, it even came with a large reward.

A shiver went down Jaune's back at what he was reading. It was made even worse as he continued on. The attempted assassination had not sat well for the governing council of Vacuo. Following the attack, all peace talks would be suspended until further notice. The tension between the kingdoms had risen again with both sides arguing about who was at fault along with conspiracies.

"So much for 'peaceful times'." Jaune mumbled somberly. That explained the crazy amount of police cruisers passing him by the other night. Another shiver went down Jaune's back as a stray thought crossed his mind.

Did that mean that the sniper had been close by? And they were still loose on the streets of Vale? That was just an unsettling thought.

But thinking about such things wouldn't do him any good. Putting the frightening thoughts on the back burner of his mind, Jaune went on to pedal and ride his bike to his interview. What he should be thinking about right now was staying out of the red, not some tension over borders of land or assassins. A normal shmuck like him didn't have any reason to think about such things.

* * *

Pain.

Blurry dark blue eyes struggled to open and get a sense of their surroundings. Their thoughts were a fog. Their head was pounding like a mad man striking a hammer into their skull. They tried to move from their position, idly noting the foul stench and dampness of their clothing. A weak moan escaped their raspy, dry lips as their weak body refused to listen. Any attempts to get up was answered with the sound of a splash as their soaked, dirty body fell to the trash littered ground. Every try would just end with their body once again being covered in trash.

Heavy puffs of struggling breath said that they weren't in any state to be making any movements. Their body was burning hot, it was a surprise to them that they hadn't died from burning alive. Their dirty, pruned, bruised fingers reached out and clawed the ground in hopes of crawling away from wherever they found themselves. But again, it was useless. They simply didn't have the strength.

"Eh? Ya 'ere that? Soun's like there someone back in the alley."

"Probably just a dog or something. Who gives a shit?"

"Nah, nah, nah! Come 'ere! Listen."

Voices echoed in the dank, wet, and dirty alleyway. They were coming closer to their position. Even with their lack of strength, their trembling fingers pushed an object that was hidden underneath them away and further into the garbage garbing them.

Rough ill fingers reached for their soaked rust red hair and pulled them up halfway through the garbage to dangle back in their grip. Their blurry vision made out two blobs and tensed. Their body shivered as the stranger pulling her hair moved their other hand to their shoulder. The hand strayed to their neck and moved the uniform over her shoulder down to reveal her moist skin and strap of their red bra. Their fingers tugged at the strap teasingly with a perverse chuckle that made her skin crawl.

"Dude, we just lucked out! Man, I've been blue balled for weeks! But it looks like we found us some entertainment." the male's voice said giddily before letting go of her hair. She fell back without a sound, too weak to make even a squeak even as her head hit a car battery in the trash around her. She could only look up with blurry vision as the two men moved closer. The pain in her head was too much as she tried to move against the hand reaching for her again. But her thoughts were slipping. Against her better judgment even in the situation she found herself in, she tried calling for help. But her weak croak went against deaf ears.

The sound of a buckle and a loud shout was the last May heard before she lost consciousness.

"HEY!"

* * *

"It's about time the rain let up. Always having a hoodie on does pay off in times like this, but I don't have any more detergent to wash my clothes off of all the musky rain smell. Maybe I could stop by Ruby's to borrow some?"

Speeding past the open puddle roads, Jaune rode back home with an upbeat grin on his face.

The interview with the foreman in charge of one of the construction projects had given him the job! Sure, it wasn't at minimum wage and there weren't any benefits, but it was flexible and paid up front. It would be for about four hours every three days starting tomorrow. Jaune would be helping to clean up the debris of demolition of the old buildings and heavy lifting certain things here and there. It wasn't glamorous or safe, but it was work.

Apparently, Yang knew the foreman as a sparring buddy in the gym. While Yang worked as a waitress, she had bigger dreams in mind for the future. Yang was a fighter through and through. She was strong and talented in martial arts, boxing being her forte. And outside of her paying job, she trained in the local gym to improve her skills in hopes of making it big in the fighting circuit. She had even been invited for a legit match in front of hundreds with a few other upstarts in January.

The foreman was someone who liked to frequent the gym to stay in shape and work on his own boxing skills. It's where he had met Yang and fought her. The two had been sparring since their first match, with Yang losing to a veteran like himself and wanting to beat him after, and had been on friendly terms. After hearing Yang talk to him about Jaune, the foreman had decided to lend a hand as a favor.

Jaune was a little miffed that he had only been accepted because of Yang out of a favor, but swallowed the feeling back. He was desperate, his pride could take a back seat for now.

What mattered now was that he had another job under his belt. Hell, it paid better than most of his other jobs. And while it was only temporary, it would be enough to keep him out of hot water.

"Yang, you beautiful, punny, dragon! If I wasn't afraid of what your mother would do to me, I would kiss you!" Jaune shouted, overjoyed as he sent waves of rain water splashing past him. It was a good thing the streets were mostly empty. No one needed to hear that little tidbit. Seeing a red light overhead, Jaune slowed his bike and moved to the sidewalk. Stopping for a moment, he reached into his pocket for his wallet for the second slip of paper he had gotten.

"I wonder if Raven's contact will be the same? I don't care what kind of job they would have for me, as long as it doesn't involve anything Raven herself would request, it should be fine." he grinned as he decided to go with his new-found stroke of luck and call up the number.

"-elp!"

Mid dialing, Jaune's thumb stopped and hovered over the nine on his screen. Past the sounds of the few cars passing him by as the light turned green, the drops of rain starting up again, the tossing wind and general sounds of the city, something cut through like a razor knife. He didn't know why he found himself staying still, but he knew that something was telling him to stay and listen. Jaune gulped as he tried to follow where he had heard that odd sound. His eyes turned away from the wet road to the alley across from him on the other side of the street.

Jaune frowned lightly, finding what looked like two men in dirty worn out clothes huddled around something in the alley. From the looks of it, they were homeless. As sad as it was, it wasn't too uncommon to see homeless in the streets. Every city had them. Out of most people's habit, Jaune turned away from the unfortunate men and moved his bike to continue on his way.

But something gripped at Jaune's heart. Like some ill foreboding. An instinct, warning him that leaving now would leave him regretting his lack of action later.

Gulping back his trepidation, Jaune got off his bike and as quietly as possible made his way over. He silently cursed his every footstep, the action splashing about the rain water on the streets, but the sound of the rain seemed to cover his tracks. It didn't even seem like the two homeless men were paying much attention either way. They were two engrossed in whatever caught their attention.

A disturbing sound entered Jaune's ears as he now stood behind the two men. The sound of a belt being undone sent off warning bells as his blue eyes wandered past the homeless men to what laid above them.

A young girl, no older than Ruby, laid collapsed on a bed of strewn about garbage. It took Jaune a moment to realize why she looked familiar as the rusty red hair, school uniform, and black beanie covering her right eye clicked. The girl was the same girl he had given a ride yesterday in the rain. What was she doing here?

The question was squashed as Jaune's eyes narrowed angrily and he visibly grit his teeth. Hearing the two dirty so called 'unfortunate souls' giggle and reach their hands for the girl was what broke the dam of his silent approach.

"HEY!" Jaune roared loudly, causing the two men to jump up in the air. They spun around in alarm and froze in shock as they found a blond boy standing directly behind them with a furious scowl.

"W-When did he get here?" One of the homeless men squeaked as he stepped back with fear.

The second homeless man didn't back away, instead scoffing at the blond.

"Was 'is? 'An't you's see we were in the middle of somethin?" the homeless man drawled. Jaune's face scrunched up as he caught the heavy whiff of alcohol on the man. He could even make out several half full bottles of whiskey in the man's large coat.

"I could see that. Mind telling me what exactly that something is?" Jaune hissed as he found himself taking a step closer to the drunk man.

The drunk scratched his head, blinking as he began making out two blonds in his swimming vision.

"Wha ya mean? We's was in the midd of is 'oung girl. Well, almos." the drunk moaned in disappointment and reached into his coat for a whiskey bottle. Downing what little was left, he tossed it aside, the bottle shattering and raining its bits on the rust haired girl before grinning widely at Jaune. He crept closer with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Aye? How's abou ya ignor all this? We's let ya join in. It wous be even mores fu-"

 **CRACK!**

A sane, well civilized person could only stomach so much disgust. No one could continue listening on to such vile talk of abusing a young girl in such a way. Which was why it really shouldn't have been any surprise to what happened next.

Two loud cracks echoed in the wet, dirty, quiet alley. One would be from the sound of the drunk man's nose being broken from Jaune's raging fist driving itself to his face. And the second one would be from one of Jaune's fingers breaking from the improperly formed fist punching the drunk's face with all this might. Jaune watched the drunk begin to fall back with teary eyes as he held himself back from shouting in pain. His eyes caught where the man was falling back and moved quickly to grab him by the neck of their coat. From the corner of Jaune's vision, he made out the second homeless man scrambling to run away from the scene before he turned back to find the drunk with a broken nose weakly glaring at him. Blood flowed from the man's disfigured nose and dripped onto Jaune's fingers.

"Y-You fuckin lil shit!" the drunk wheezed with a labored breath. He weakly reached into his coat for a small rusted knife and spat as he spoke. "You's goin to regret that!"

Jaune's arm trembled as his anger spiked. Regret? Regret stopping something disgusting from falling onto a young innocent girl? Like hell he would be feeling something so sinful.

"If you wanna start talking about regrets, then start with your own!" Jaune shouted before his adrenaline caused him to do something uncharacteristic of himself. With a snarl, he smashed his forehead against the drunk's skull. The small deadly knife flew towards Jaune's stomach, only to be stopped as the man's arm went limp.

With a pained grunt, Jaune held his bruising forehead with his free hand as the drunk in his hand lost consciousness. With a scowl, he threw the homeless man aside and away from the girl laying in the trash. Jaune's own pain could wait. Ignoring his throbbing thumb and middle finger, Jaune dropped down to get a better look at the girl. He grew even more furious as he noted that the top part of her uniform blazer had been moved to reveal her collarbone and strap of her bra. He immediately fixed her soaking clothes back and cursed loudly as the rain began to fall harder.

"Just how long have you been out here?" Jaune wondered aloud as he inspected the girl. From the looks of her clothes, she had been out in the rain all day. They were soggy and heavy. He grew worried as his fingers grazed her cheeks. The girl's skin was scalding. He looked at her face, watching as her breaths came out in short labored breaths. She was pale. He gave her a few pats on her burning cheeks with a weak smile as he tried to get a response.

"H-Hey? Can you wake up? Remember me? Can you say anything, p-please?" he said softly, cringing as he caught himself stuttering from worry. With no response, Jaune frowned deeply.

 _'God damn it, the closest hospital or doctor isn't for several miles. It's obvious that she's suffering from a fever, a bad one at that. If she doesn't get out of the rain and into some dry clothes-'_ Jaune cut off the line of thought with a growl. She wasn't dying, she was just very sick. And she needed help.

Without a second thought, Jaune dug the rust haired girl out of the bed of trash. Carefully, he propped the girl over his shoulders and moved her heavy arms around his neck. Suddenly, the girl's arms tightened around his neck firmly. The action brought a small smile to Jaune's face and fixed her position.

"Don't worry, I got you. I promise, no one's going to hurt you. Okay?" Jaune said warmly, gazing back at the unconscious redhead. Turning away from the trash heap and the groaning drunk with a bloody face, Jaune ran over to his bike and hopped on.

Jaune yelped as his fingers curled around the grip of his handles and tightened. Right, he almost forgot about his messed-up fingers. Were they broken? Hopefully not, he could only deal with one problem right now. Making sure that the sick redhead was secured properly over his back one last time, Jaune hit the road like a blur, sending waves of rain water crashing past him as he headed home.

In his haste, he didn't notice the slip of paper that was once in his hand now laying in the raining streets. The ink on the slip began to run and blotch. Its number lost to the rainy weather.

* * *

Warmth. A warmth that didn't burn like fire. It was the first thing she felt as her blue eye fluttered open.

A blood red ceiling greeted her swimming vision as she looked up with clouded thoughts. For a few moments she just laid back, blinking at nothing as she tried to gather her thoughts. She noticed that she was in bed, covered up to her neck in blankets, a small cool damp towel on her forehead and tucked in as tight as possible. Almost as if to prevent her from escaping. Which was of little use. Her strength was still gone and even sitting up would be going too far.

Images began to flash back to her of before she found herself in bed. A cold drizzling night, bright flashes, a crosshair, several bangs, red and blue lights, then running for hours, exhaustion, a miss step, and then darkness. Than a few moments of waking up and falling asleep. And the last thing she remembered was feeling cold and wet, then burning up, then the voices, a sickening touch and laugh, and finally a loud voice unlike the other two. Now she was in bed.

In bed. Dry.

Her clothes from earlier were gone, replaced by what felt like a baggy shirt and dry… underwear.

Someone was dying.

Slowly.

At the moment the door to the room creaked open. She slowly craned her neck to get a view of the person who was responsible for her current stay. Stepping in with light careful steps, she caught sight of a head of messy blond hair, blue eyes, peach skin, wearing a white night shirt and gray pajama bottoms. The stranger looked no older than twenty and appeared unarmed. He tip toed over to her bedside, unaware that she was awake and carried with him a tray of something steaming in his arms.

The blond suddenly looked to her face and blinked. Seeing his face clearly now, she was stunned to recognize him as the boy who biked her to her mission's location the other day.

Jaune smiled softly as he found the sick girl awake. Carefully setting the tray of food to the side of his night stand, he knelt down to her eye level with a gentle expression on his face.

"Hi there. Looks like you're finally awake. Good, I was worried that you'd never wake up." he spoke softly. The red rusted hair girl stared at him blankly, showing little emotion. Jaune was slightly worried at that, but chalked it up to the girl's fever.

When he had brought her into his store, he had quickly gone to one of his drawers in the kitchen to look for a thermometer. The little device revealed to him that she had a temperature of 105 Fahrenheit. She had a high fever, something that was obvious upon first glance. The poor girl must have been out in the rain for who knows how long.

The red-haired girl groaned softly as her aching head throbbed. Everything hurt. Keeping her eye open alone was a lot of effort. But she fought the weakness over her body to try and speak.

"Who… are you? Where am… I?" she said slowly with a quiet horse whisper.

Jaune grinned, happy that the sick girl could at least speak. Of course, she would have questions. No doubt she was scared of what was going on, especially with waking up in a stranger's bed.

"Take it easy. I don't think you're ready to be speaking just yet." Jaune said with a small chuckle before moving his hand over to her head. The girl flinched at the action, but found his hand going to her forehead and picking up the drying washcloth. He brought it to a small bucket by the bed and dipped it into the water before ringing it out and setting the cool cloth back on her burning head.

"Names Jaune Arc, and you're safe and sound in my little odds shop. I found you laying in the rain with a bunch of trash covering you before I took you in. So, forgive me for the shock of it all."

The bedridden girl continued to stare at Jaune as he grabbed another wet washcloth and began cleaning her sweating face. It was then that she noticed a bandage patch on the middle of his forehead and the bandages on two of his fingers.

"…You're hurt?" she didn't know why she asked the question, but she found her eyes landing on his bandages. Jaune grimaced suddenly.

"Don't worry about that, I just tripped over some trash is all." Jaune said with a dark hint to his voice before smiling at the girl, "The one you should be worried about is yourself. What were you doing on in the rain like that anyways? Shouldn't you be home with your parents?" he said with worried.

"Parents?" the girl said slowly, the very word sounding foreign to her.

Jaune frowned at the reaction. Was she homeless? No, that didn't appear right. She wasn't dressed like one and she seemed like your average middle school girl. Other than her right eye of course. Jaune found his fists cracking as he recalled trying to remove the sick girl's beanie, only for her to unconsciously grab his wrist to stop him in her sleep. But he still caught the sign of scarring from the corner of the beanie.

Those questions could wait for the moment though. And he would get them. Right now, though, he was more focused on treating her fever.

"Guess you're still too sick to answer much, huh? Well, can you at least tell me your name?" Jaune asked softly.

The girl frowned lightly at the question. Her mind was still a murky haze at the moment. But through it all, she made out a voice in the mess.

 _'Serial Number 00083, May 12th. Civilian Alias, May Zedong.'_

"May." The girl weakly answered.

"May?" Jaune repeated before smiling fondly at the girl, "It's a nice name. Can you tell me anything else? Like why I found you in some dank alley in the rain? Or where you live? Maybe I should take you to a hospital now. You seem like you're in a good enough condition to move you." Jaune mulled out loud as he reached for his scroll.

It had only been five hours since he brought her in and it looked like she was already feeling a thousand times better. May would be better off with people who knew what they were doing. Jaune was only doing what he had learned from his mother, and one of his sisters working as a doctor, to treat her fever. Plus, the hospital must have some kind of record of her. It would be killing two birds with one stone.

Suddenly Jaune's wrist was grabbed onto with a weak feeble grip. His finger stopped on the last 1. He looked back to find May stopping him from making the call. She looked at him with a pleading eye.

"Please… don't." her voice was strained but begged him to stop.

The scene of several frantic people running away in fear, the sound of bullets cracking and hitting flesh, blood splatter, men in blue and black barking and shining lights came to mind. Being brought to a hospital did not sound like a good idea. Not after last night. No one could know where or who she was, that much she remembered.

Jaune frowned at the trembling hand grabbing his wrist. Speaking alone must have been difficult. For whatever reason it seemed that May didn't want to be brought to the hospital. Jaune couldn't understand why but knew that she must have had a good reason. The blue eye staring at him, begging him, said so. Against his better judgment, Jaune shut his scroll and gently held May's hand.

"Don't strain yourself, May. If you don't want to see the doctor right now, then that's alright. You can just rest here for now, okay?" he said softly as he carefully removed May's hand. Once her hand was off, he was startled to find the skin of his wrist red and winced.

How strong a grip did she have?

Fixing May back into a comfortable position, Jaune got up to reach for the tray he brought with him. May curiously found her eyes falling on the steaming bowl in his hand. Her nose was too clogged to get a whiff but still found herself watering slightly at the food. It was only then did she realize she hadn't eaten much in the last few days.

Jaune smiled in apology as he rose a fork full of noodles up to the girl, "Sorry it ain't chicken noodles, but I hope chicken ramen will be good enough for you. How about it? You feeling hungry?"

Despite herself, May nodded to her own hunger. Seeing the steamy chicken broth noodles inching to her mouth, she opened as wide as she could and bit down. Even while sick, the taste of the cheap noodles was like an explosion in her mouth. Never before had she tasted something so good! She gulped down the tender noodles and opened for a spoonful of the broth that ran down her throat and soothed its soreness. Even the broth was delicious.

Jaune chuckled in amusement as he continued to feed the very hungry girl. Well that was a first. He'd never seen anyone eat ramen noodles with such joy on their face. Someone must have been starving.

The soup was gone in a few moments with one last spoonful of broth. Setting aside the bowl and cleaning May of some soup spilling on her, Jaune patted the girl's head gently before standing back up. As much as he'd like to get to know more about her, she needed all the rest she could get. One more check of the thermometer said all he needed to know. May's temperature had gone down four degrees, better than before but still not enough to get her out of her fever. Until her fever was over with, Jaune would just have to care for the girl before he began searching for her home.

"Get some rest, May. You're still not out of the woods yet. If you need anything, just give this little guy a ding." Reaching for his pocket, Jaune set a small little golden bell by the nightstand. "I should be able to hear it from even down stairs. So, don't be afraid to ask for anything." he smiled.

May nodded hesitantly. She still wasn't sure about her current situation, or trusted the blond boy, but she couldn't really do much now until she regained her strength. For now, she would just have to play along as his little patient. Though before Jaune left, May's eyes did narrow as she asked a very important question.

"Where are my clothes? And did you change me out of them?"

"SO, if you need anything, just give me a ring! I'll be close by, see ya!"

The door behind Jaune was shut hastily before May could say another word, leaving her with an annoyed scowl. But she was too exhausted to give a fuss about it. Once she was back to a hundred, she'd make him talk. With a tired sigh, she shut her eyes and let her body begin the slow recovery.

In the back of her mind, she was surprised to find that she felt that odd warmth again. She couldn't find a reason to complain or dislike it. It felt… nice.

[Page Break]

Shutting the door behind him, Jaune coughed into his fist as he fought with the blossoming blush on his face. That was a close one! No need to cause any tension when she was still sick. Sadly, his mind replayed the embarrassing event making his blush even worse.

 _'It was no different than when I had to do the same with my sisters. As long I have that in mind, there's no problem!'_ It was necessary. And besides, it was less trouble compared to how he acquired the underwear for May.

Jaune felt shivers crawling down his spine as he remembered his trip to the Branwen/Xiao Long/Rose household. _'I thought Raven was working at this time of day! Why does my luck have to suck so bad?'_

Sighing, Jaune pushed back from the door and made his way over to the living room. He sat down on the only couch and pulled out his scroll. It was a good thing the neighboring homes didn't password protect their wi-fi otherwise he'd bored with nothing to do. Opening up the screen, Jaune was ready to open up a streaming app with Ruby's password before he found a call coming in. He was surprised to find a call from home coming in at this time of day. Tapping the call button, he smiled as a sweet voice came through.

"Hello, Jauney! How's my favorite boy doing?"

Jaune laid back against the old sofa with a fond quirk of his lips, "Hey, mom! Nice to hear from you. What's the occasion?" he asked curiously, "You don't normally call this often. Is something up?"

His mother would call every so often just to check up on him. And she had called him last week with the usual questions of how he was doing and if he was eating well. Along with asking if he had finally asked out Yang or Pyrrha. The woman was very eager for grandchildren. Too eager if you asked him.

The voice of Joanna Arc was soft over the scroll as she spoke, "No, nothing much. Well, other than your father being moved to another base for two years. It looks like we'll be packing things up and heading to Mistral next week. And I just wanted to let you know that our address will change. Do you have a pen and paper close by?"

So, that was it? Jaune nodded at the news before going to the kitchen.

Thing was, Jaune's father was a Captain in Remnant's global peacekeeping force under The United Kingdoms of Remnant, or UKR for short. And his line of duty had him moving to kingdom to kingdom whenever they needed him. Alexander Arc's work had him working with soldiers of all countries to keep the peace of the world and his family followed along with him. Every time he would be transferred to a new base, his family would pack up their things and find a home close by to stay by Alexander. Of course, doing such did cause some problems for the younger Arc children back in the day since they would have to leave their friends every few years, but they got used to it. Such was the life of an army brat after all.

It was also another reason Jaune had left home to study in Vale. He wanted a steady home for once and friends he wouldn't eventually have to say good-bye to after two years.

Jotting down the new address for future reference, Jaune safely placed the address away and went back to sit on the sofa.

"Alright, that should do it. How are Rouge and Marron taking it? Last I heard, Rouge was talking about this nice boy she met and Marron found a new BFF."

Joanna sighed over her end, "They're not happy, I'll tell you that much. But they're always like that, just as you and your sisters were at that age. It won't be long till they're old enough to leave and live their own lives. I know Marron's been talking about striking it out on her own just like her adorable big brother. You know she really does envy you." she said amusingly.

Jaune groaned at what he was hearing. There was no way in hell he was letting one of his sisters follow after him. He had no idea what he was doing with his life! But after they had heard he had his own business in the glamorous city of Vale, they had all begun to see him in a new light.

"She really shouldn't. It's not as easy as I make it out to be." he said with a chuckle. At the moment, he was faking his business being successful. He didn't want to have them worrying about him, not again. Plus, he also didn't want his mother leaving home and dragging him back at the news that he was constantly in the red. "She should just focus on her studies and have fun. You're only young once after all."

"Only young once? Don't go saying such things, Jaune! You're still a child too!" Joanna said in a huff. "You need to enjoy life too. Don't overwork yourself either, we don't need you growing gray hairs like your father."

Jaune grinned, "Dad has gray hairs? Since when? I bet he went hunting for hair dye the second he found a strand on his head! Hey, isn't gramps bald? Don't they say that balding is hereditary?" he laughed evilly with a smirk.

"Yes, it is. And aren't you his son?"

The laugh died in Jaune's throat as his hands flew for his precious blond locks.

"You take that back!"

"Someone's going to go bald~! Hopefully you find a woman before than! You should really make up your mind with that nice Pyrrha girl. Oh! She's training in Mistral now, isn't she? I'm definitely going to visit her."

Jaune's face went red as he sputtered. That was some dangerous territory she was talking about. Things between him and Pyrrha were still complicated.

"Mom, that's my business! I don't need you butting into my love life!" he shouted in embarrassment to his mom as she began to laugh ominously. No man needed their mother of all people getting involved with their love life, it just wasn't right!

"Then how about Yang? You two have been best friends for years! You'd think you'd at least make it to third base with her."

"MOM, SERIOUSLY! PLEASE STOP TALKING!"

Joanna continued to laugh over her son as he hung his head with tears running down his face in shame. Eventually, her laughter did die down as a silence fell over them. Jaune's mother made a small noise over the phone, almost as if she was about to say something but cut herself off. Already, Jaune knew what she was going to say as he stared at his phone with melancholy.

"You know, your sister's birthday is next month. It's a good thing we'll be moving to Anima, Shion's not too far from our new home. Everyone will be visiting her to say happy birthday and we're even bringing a cake!"

The line went silent again as Jaune's face was shadowed by his hair. All he could hear were the drops of rain hitting the window across from him and the usual beeps of cars passing by.

"Do you think… you can fly over to sing your sister happy birthday this year?"

Jaune stayed silent for a few moments as his mother waited for an answer before speaking.

"Sorry mom, but I'm packed with work! I can't exactly leave now when I've just inherited this business from my friend. I got people to help, who need me now. I just can't make the time to visit this year. I'm a working man after all!" he said with a false sense of cheer in his voice.

Joanna sighed on her end but didn't push on any further.

"I suppose you're right, you've already have enough on your plate as is. I know the girls will be sad to hear you won't be visiting, but they'll understand. Maybe next year!"

Jaune smiled bitterly as he nodded, "Yeah, maybe next year." he said softly.

"Well, I don't want to take up any more of your busy schedule. Just remember to take care of yourself, Jaune. Your mother loves you, and everyone else misses you too. And Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"… I'm sorry."

The line on Joanna's end was cut off before he could answer back. It was fine. He already knew what she was sorry for.

"Me too."

The scroll in hand was shut off and tossed onto the living room table. With a heavy sigh, Jaune laid back against his beaten down sofa and stared up at the ceiling. He suddenly wasn't in the mood for a movie right now.

The day had been surprisingly tiring. It wasn't even six o'clock yet. And still Jaune found his eyes growing heavy. He shut them and decided it wasn't such a bad idea to sleep the rest of the day off. The sudden spike of guests in the morning was probably a onetime thing, he didn't expect any more to wander in. Besides, he had a new job to look forward to tomorrow. Might as well save his strength.

 _'I should remember to make May some breakfast before I head out tomorrow. And leave her the number of my scroll in case of emergencies. Should probably buy some groceries tomorrow too, I got just about enough now. I can't have a sick girl only eating ramen.'_ he thought amusingly before he felt himself lolling to sleep.

* * *

Back in a certain alleyway, a drunk man with a broken nose finally began to come to. He groaned as he woke up to the searing pain of broken cartilage. The last thing he remembered was a blond blur and a headbutt to the face.

"That's the last time I go out drinking in the rain." the homeless man mumbled before wincing as he got up. His thoughts were still fuzzy as he wandered around the trashed alley before his foot bumped into something. Out of curiosity, he moved aside all the garbage in the way. Underneath it all laid a high tech gray sniper rifle with no marking or serial numbers. It glistened even in the rain as he stared at it in awe. He picked it up and ran his dirty hands over the wet rifle with a wide grin.

"Oh, baby! You look like you'll run for a pretty fine Lien on the market. Seems like it's my lucky day!"

"Target locked. Commence fire."

The bum blinked, confused at the cold voice popping out of nowhere.

"Who-"

 **ZIP!**

A muffled bang entered the man's ears before his eyes rolled into the back of his head. A clean gaping hole pierced his forehead before blood began to spray out the wound. He fell back with a wordless shout into the garbage around him as his heart came to a stop. The sniper rifle in his hands was held in a death grip as a shadow fell over his chilling body.

A young woman with short black cropped hair wearing a black tight-fitting suit stood over her dead target. Her empty blue eyes scanned him for anything significant before falling on the weapon in his hand. She grabbed the rifle and with one yank, ripped it from his fingers. With the rifle in hand now she turned away from the body as four more shadows jumped down to surround the dead man.

A voice crackled over the earpiece as the four people behind her went to work on disposing the body.

"Check in, check in. This is August 1st coming in, what's the status?"

"There appears to be no sign of May 12th nearby, only her weapon. A civilian was found with her rifle and was quickly dealt with, as per instructions." the woman replied swiftly with no emotion as she stepped over the puddles of rain and trash. She stopped suddenly as her feet hit something with a metallic cling. Reaching down into a puddle, she found a necklace with a crosshair forgotten by its owner.

"It appears May 12th's tag has been discarded. We are unable to pinpoint her location at the time."

The man over the other end of the earpiece dragged out an annoyed sigh before speaking, "Sheesh, just my luck. Not only did she fail the mission, but she's disappeared. As if the client didn't have enough to be pissed about. The big man's not going to like this, we'll be working overtime to clean up this mess." the man grumbled, "Continue with protocol, June 21st. May 12th must be found and if need be, eliminated. The information she holds cannot fall into the hands of the authorities. You have one week to complete your objective, understood?"

The woman known as June 21st nodded firmly with a blank expression. The four women behind her finished cleaning up the mess in only a few moments and walked to stand at her side with several large black bags full of waste to be properly disposed of. Each woman held the same emotionless gaze as they awaited further orders, their features the same as June 21st.

"Yes, August. We will complete our objective within the required time." they all said autonomously in unison.

From his end of the line, August grinned.

"Good, we can't have one of Vacuo's Children missing. It would break the big man's heart." he chuckled deeply.

The line went dead, leaving June 21st alone with her fellow comrades. They stood silent in the downpour, paying their soaking bodies no mind before leaping away in blurs.

The search for May 12th had begun. And they would leave no corner untouched. And no witnesses.

* * *

 **Alright, time to introduce something new to the table! Or familiar if you've read Multiplayer. That's right, instead of DLCs, we got Odd Jobs! Special One-shots, extras to keep you entertained. Some are Canon, some not. This one is. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Odd Job #1: Help Wanted in Sneaking and Entering a MILF's Home.**

With a wince, Jaune parked his bike by the side of the the Branwen/Xiao Long/Rose household. His finger was still hurting even after applying some first aid. No guessing now, his finger was sprained. He sighed as he walked in the rain to the door of the empty home, glancing back for any eyes as he knelt down. He flipped the welcome mat over and grabbed the spare key hidden underneath before unlocking the door.

He really didn't want to sneak into his friends home like this, but May needed a change of clothes. Which he could give even if they were a little big on her. But there was one thing he didn't have.

Panties.

 _'I'm breaking into a friends house to borrow some panties for a girl who looks to be fourteen. What the hell's happened to my life?'_ Jaune thought with a grimace as he shut the door behind him softly. Maybe she would be fine with boxers instead?

Well it was too late to back down now. Better to make this quick and forget about it. Besides who would notice a single pair of panties missing?

Cursing the suddenly squeaking floorboards as he tiptoed around the house, Jaune made his up the stairs and headed for Ruby's room. It was a good thing everyone was gone right now. Ruby was probably at a friends house, and Yang and Raven were at work. It would be embarrassing to ask them for panties of all things even if he explained the situation. Yang would laugh her ass off and make fun of him for days.

Reaching Ruby's room, he entered while being careful not to move anything that would reveal he was here. Since he left the rose themed girl had finally gotten her own room, something she was probably ecstatic for. He smiled as he made out action figures on a shelf along with her own personal collection of comics. A girl Ruby may have been but she was still a dork at heart. He didn't waste too much time lingering as he reached for her drawer were he guessed she kept her undergarments. He blushed darkly as he found several cutesy bras and panties before reaching in for a random one and shut the draw quickly.

Jaune stuffed the high school girl's panties into his hoodie pocket as he tried to forget what he just saw and touched. Dear god, how would he ever explain this if he was caught?

Time to leave. No need to stick around any longer, he had a sick and wet girl who needed a change of clothes. Jaune rushed out of the room, shutting the door with a little more force than needed as he ran down the stairs while fighting off the images he had seen.

 _'Why does Ruby have lingerie? A girl her age shouldn't have something so sexy in her room. It's not like any guy would ever see it. Yang would kill him before that ever happened.'_

Little did he know that the very boy she had bought them for had already seen them. It was just to bad it wasn't as she wanted.

With his feet touching the bottom of the stairs, Jaune grinned in victory as he eyed the door to his escape. The perfect crime.

Sadly the knob of the door wiggled, causing Jaune's eyes to widen in horror as the door opened. He couldn't hide or run, there was no time. He was caught!

Raven blinked quizzically as she flicked on the lights and found Jaune of all people standing in the middle of entrance way. She collapsed her umbrella, setting down her briefcase as she walked in.

"Jaune? What are you doing here?" Raven asked suspiciously as Jaune began to sweat.

 _'Don't tell her about the stolen panties, don't tell her about the stolen panties, don't tell her about the stolen panties!'_ Jaune repeated in his mind as he smiled nervously at the dark haired mature beauty.

"I-uh, was just stopping by for a visit! I don't really have any jobs lined up right now, so I thought it would be a good idea to check up on all of you guys while I had some free time!" Jaune said quickly, cursing his inability to come up with a better excuse.

The obvious lie didn't work as Raven crossed her arms over her impressive chest. A woman like her could see through lies with a hawks perfect sight. She stared at Jaune for several moments, searching through his eyes for the truth until she came to a conclusion.

Jaune's brow twitched as he noticed Raven's lips spread wide in a grin. That did not spell any good.

With a swing of her hips, Raven slowly walked over to the nervous blond as her hand strayed to the neck of her business suit. She undid the buttons, revealing her pale white creamy cleavage.

"I see. I don't know how, but it looks like you found that I left early from work today. I knew it was only a matter of time before you couldn't fight it any longer. Seems rainy days do bring good fortune." Raven purred as she pressed herself against Jaune's chest.

Jaune gulped audibly as he tried to keep his eyes up and away from the arousing sight of Raven's visible cleavage. Well it looked like he knew were Ruby had gotten the racy bras from. Despite his better judgment his blue eyes fell on the creamy flesh. And Raven smirked hotly.

And that was the opening she needed.

Jaune yelped as he fell back against the wet floor with Raven on top of him. His eyes bulged as he watched the woman's suit fly off, leaving her only in her sexy business suit and dark colored bra. Her raven ponytail came undone as her long ebony locks fell over her shoulders as she smiled sultry. Jaune sucked in sharp breath, feeling the single mother grind on his bulging crotch as he hot breath washed over him.

God damn it, not again.

"R-Raven, we've talked about this!" Jaune stuttered with a red face. He grunted in strain, keeping his lips shut tightly as a moan almost escaped. Shit, he could feel her wet region rubbing against him! Her large breasts rubbed against his chest as she leaned in closer, her arms looping around his neck as she let out small erotic gasps.

Raven's red eyes were open half way in a haze as she nuzzled the side of his head.

"D-Don't worry, the k-kids won't be home for a few h-hours!" Raven moaned, causing the erect member she was grinding against to harden like an iron rod. She sped up in her movements, wishing she had discarded a bit more. But that was fine, she thought as one of her hands slipped off of Jaune's neck for his zipper. She just needed to make a simple adjustment and problem solved.

The feeling of his zipper being unzipped made Jaune panic. If Raven pulled his personal sword out than that would be it! He wouldn't be able to fight her off anymore. He would be taking the final step to adulthood and there would be no turning back once his dick entered her. Once Yang walked in to the sight of her best male friend's sweaty naked body and her mother's naked body laying on the floor, he would be dead.

 **RING, RING, RING~!**

A bestial growl escaped Raven's throat as she sat up suddenly on Jaune's waist. Her damned business phone just had to ring now of all times! Fucking clients. With a grudging sigh she got up off of her prey and turned away to take her call. Her face twitched as she wore a strained patient smile.

"Hello, this is Raven Branwen speaking, how may I help you? . . . .Yes, I understand. . . .The papers will be delivered as requested. . . .No, it shouldn't affect the grossing income. . .Look, can we speak on another date? . . .Yes, it's very important, so I would appreciate it. . .Thank you and I'll speak to you later."

Shutting her scroll with a snap, Raven fixed her hair as her hands moved to the back of her bra's strap. She smirked sensually as threw it off, releasing her D-cups for some air as she turned to the object of her lust. Now it was time to turn a boy into a man.

Raven blinked, completely confused as Jaune went missing, swearing she could see a literal outline of his body in his absence. She shivered suddenly as she covered her naked breasts and spun her eyes to the door, finding it wide open as if someone had hurriedly swung it open. She pouted.

"I was so close! When am I going to get another opportunity like that again?" Raven grumbled to herself as she collected her clothes. She sighed grudgingly as she headed up stairs, her thoughts turning to her hot encounter as she bit her lips.

Didn't his father ever teach Jaune not to leave a woman unsatisfied? Oh well, at least she helped him with one thing before he left.

As Jaune pedaled madly back to his store, the panties safely secured in his jacket pocket, he idly noticed something odd.

The sprain on his finger had lessened and the cut on his forehead had almost completely healed. Weird.

* * *

 _ **From the rain, a new tenant comes into Jaune's home. A mysterious girl with one eye and rusty red hair. With no idea to her identity, he only knows one thing. To keep her save and healthy.**_

 _ **The shadows of a world he didn't knew exist are loose. Beware the eyes of August.**_

 _ **Your Soul is bound. Why do you bind it? Clench your fists.**_

 _ **And live with meaning.**_

 **Alright, that's it for now. I got to get back to working on the next chapter seeing as I've uploaded this. I've been holding it off until I've had Multiplayer's chapters caught up, which I have. Might as well get this going while I wait for the chapter to be edited. Beta's been sick, so we've had delays.**

 **And in the mean time I've also been working on some projects. I won't say what! Just know that I have something planned for the future if all goes well. Especially once I've seen the last two episodes of Volume 5 of RWBY.**

 **Remember to Read and Review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows in and out.**


	3. Intent

**It's snowing outside, my stores is closed, and I'm in bed without my pants on. Just another night for good old NeoShadows.**

 **So, this chapter is a little late. My Beta's been terribly sick so it's taken him a long time to edit all the chapters I've been sending him. Luckily he's better and we're back to business.**

 **I've been busy as of late as well. I've had a good five days off the last month due to my deli going under renovations, so I've had a lot of time to finish writing. I even had time to finish coming up with the endgame of A Jaune of All Trades. We got an ending and now we're making our way to it. But once my vacation was over with I've gone back to work at one of our locations close by. My deli isn't some chain or the like, its a Delaware exclusive with five stores, so I've had to run back and forth until opening day. Now opening day is close and I'm busier than ever.**

 **Thankfully Ch.4 is on its way to completion. I should have that ready in two weeks. So, continue being patient, my fans! All good things come to those who wait. Now, to Reviews!**

 **Jaune Black Smudge: Well, if I go with the standard Harem route, it's loses its appeal in my opinion. Trust me, I was all for harems in my younger days. Now that I've grown as a writer it comes to me that writing a harem can be either too easy or to hard. I've tried with my Fairy Tail fic. Though I do love reading them when they're done right. I'll try to go for that here, but their will be a sole pairing at the very end. But that won't be for a long while. Who knows though? Things change. Golden Time, huh? I've heard of that. I'll add it to the Bucket List of Anime I got. I got an godly amount of unwatched anime on their sadly.**

 **ThatOneRandomDude: Don't worry, all will be explained in time. I don't want to give away the plot just yet. For now, it's just a down on his luck blond trying to make ends meat. The world may appear to shit on Jaune, but he's still pulling through as he always does.**

 **GhostAngel14: Aww, shut the fuck up, you're making me blush! And as a man, I demand you cease. That's just not right. And I don't know how I make such fine OC waifu for ya's. I just do, don't question it.**

 **MegaDimension Forever01: I actually don't. Between you and me, I do have a story in mind pairing Jaune/Raven, but it's still in its beta phase. Who knows? If I ever go through with the idea of a story of one-shots, I would do just that.**

 **Scalding Aura: I don't know. Honestly, I stopped reading Naruto fics a long while back. It just lost its appeal after scouring hundreds of that sect. I do like the idea of a RWBY/DDLC fic if done right. Sounds interesting and a challenge. I'd love to see it written properly.**

 **FireFox614: Who knows? Oh wait, I do. And I ain't telling. Guess all you want, you won't find out until later on. You know, I do wish someone made a May/Jaune fic worth a read. We'll see what happens here. Also, Raven is my main girl in case you haven't guessed by this fic. I am a dude as well, so no trigger pulled. Not unless you mention Martha. Than all the triggers are pulled!**

 **DarkLegendarySoldier: We'll see what happens. Glad to meet a Gintama fan, too few of us out there. Enjoy the harem hijinks for now.**

 **FreddyLane1: That woman must be in the middle of nowhere in the desert because she's ready to chug, girl be thirsty. As for the OC's, pretty much. Except for May, still surprised so many thought she was an OC too.**

 **And that's it for reviews. Keep them coming! Two chapters in and we're almost to a hundred reviews already. That makes me feel proud. So without further delays, let's get to scrolling!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** _**I do not own the rights to RWBY, all rights belong to RoosterTeeth. You know, I just discovered Discord thanks to DragonManMax inviting me in to chat. Nice to know I'm not the only degenerate out there. Seriously, someone brought up the subject of hentai and everything spiraled down after that. Does anyone remember Bakugan by the way? Or the fact it had hentai too?**_

 _ **What? NO! I certainly was not the one to bring it up! What am I? A PERVERT?! If I wasn't in bed without any pants on while watching high school girls in sailor uniforms fight tentacle monsters right now, I would slap each one of you across the face.**_

 _ **I'm a saint, damn it.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Intent.**

In a dimly lit room illuminated by only the single large forty-inch hologram screen, several shadowed figures stood in front of the video as smoke lingered in the dark room. The small embers of a cigar grew dim while the smoker tapped away the useless ash and grunted.

"And that's pretty much it, Sir. May 12th's whereabouts are currently unknown and we have no way of tracking her down. Not to mention Vale is an uncharted city in our books. If it where anywhere in Vacuo it wouldn't be a problem, but we're still scouting the place as we speak."

A generic azure profile blinked, the person on the other end of the call sighed in frustration. The room went quiet with the exception of several clicks that could be heard from the other line.

"I am very disappointed with you, August. We were ordered to assassinate Mr. Mane on the night in question to stop the peace talks between Vacuo and Vale, but instead we've only delayed the situation. As of now, peace talks have been suspended for two weeks to distill the tension, something our client is not happy about. And mind you, they are not the most... understanding of individuals. Even worse is that their very, very, very large reward has already been spent." the voice was monotonous, speaking with an automated voice to hide their true identity. On the screen, several digital files were uploaded for those gathered in the room to see. "Note that information on display is very sensitive, detailing all our plans for this mission and several more to be completed on your return to the facility. Each member of your team has said information hidden on their person in a way no one other than themselves and my most trusted operatives can take. If anyone were to get their hands on, say a loose unit who's found themselves with a malfunctioning set of lips, then my little business would go under like that!"

The sound of a slamming fist didn't faze the head of the shadowed figures even as those standing by him twitched from the angered voice. Instead, he simply dragged a long puff of his cigar.

"I understand, Sir. And I take full responsibility for the unit's failure. Their Perfect Zoom seemed to have malfunctioned in the heavy rain that night. From our tracking of her location, she was on the run for several hours before stopping. Due to the large amount of police activity, we couldn't go after her. Rest assured, I'll have her back before you know it." August said with a lazy drawl.

"Hmm, don't take this the wrong way, but I believe that you'll need assistance." the voice said unconvinced, bringing a twitch of annoyance to the shadowed figure's face, "July 1st will arrive in Vale in two days to assist and speed things up. We still have a mission to finish after all. Whether we have May 12th or not. Understand?"

August bit down on his cigar with a scowl of annoyance. Great, July. Just what he needed. Sadly, he couldn't argue with the boss. Not when he was pissed. He could only go along and nod.

"Yes, Sir. I'll debrief July 1st once she arrives at our current HQ. Rest assured, the mission will be a success."

A sound of satisfaction could be heard over the line before the automated voice continued.

"Good. We have too much riding on this mission, so make sure no one interferes. And if you're lacking in man power, don't be afraid to hire some extra help that can be disposed of. Do whatever you must to ensure that the mission is complete." The profile dimmed, flickering before the screen went white. With their boss gone, the room seemed to relax.

Sighing, August stepped closer to the bright screen as he tapped away on the keyboard. August appeared with a sharp lightly tanned face, emerald green eyes, and a single ring piercing on his right brow. Two blond bangs hung by his face and his neck length hair was tied back in a ponytail that resembled the sharp leaves of a pineapple.

"You heard the big man, search for May 12th no matter the cost. And leave no trace of your presence." August commanded to those gathered in the room. The dark figures nodded without a word and moved to begin their search, leaving their leader alone.

August scratched the back of his head with a yawn as he idly searched the local news. His eyes perked up, catching something interesting before grinning.

Chipped Fang? Didn't that sound interesting?

* * *

Fighting another yawn, Jaune stepped out of the bathroom after he finished changing into his usual wear for the day. It was about time he got the shop ready for some guests before heading off to a few jobs. Not to mention he had to head to Vale for his construction contract today.

But first he had a certain tenant to check on.

Careful not to wake her, Jaune stepped into his room where May currently slept. He'd been sleeping on the couch for now while she had the only bed. He rubbed his sore neck before he gently cracked the door open and peeked inside. A smile made its way to his face as he found a head of rusty red sleeping peacefully.

It had been three days since Jaune had found May out in the rain. With a high fever, the poor girl was unable to move about for the first few days and she slept for most of the day. The only time she ever got up was when she had to use the bathroom. She hadn't really stepped out of the room for anything else and he fed her in bed. Quietly, Jaune stepped in to check on the girl's current temperature. The second his foot touched the inside of his room he wasn't surprised to find May's eyes snap open and glance at him. The girl had really sensitive hearing, it was almost terrifying.

"Hey, May. How are we feeling today?" he asked gently as he walked over to the bed.

Still glancing at Jaune, May turned away to stare up at the ceiling as she kept silent. She shut her eyes as she felt Jaune remove the dry towel on her forehead.

"...Better." May finally answered. She didn't put any fuss as she felt the cool tip of a thermometer enter her mouth.

Jaune was happy to hear that, even happier as he pulled back the thermometer. Her fever had gone down considerably this morning. She was definitely out of the woods now. All she appeared to have now was some lingering exhaustion, not to mention her sprained ankle. Feeling her forehead, he decided there was no need for the towel anymore and left it in the small bucket.

"Good to hear. I guess this means I don't have to change you out of your clothes anymore." Jaune said with a weak chuckle as he felt May's glare pointed at him.

He could still feel the elbow to the ribs from yesterday.

Coughing into his fist in hopes of ridding the underline tension, Jaune continued.

"Seeing as you're feeling better, maybe now we can begin searching for your family and-"

"No."

Jaune's face twisted in conflict, his line of thought cut off immediately as May answered with a blunt fidelity. This was always how their conversation dealing with any thought of returning her home would lead. She never explained why. She didn't even give him any reason as to why he should just leave it alone. It was almost as if she was ready to stay here for the rest of her life.

He asked before if she had a home. May's answer was that she had a home. Had. Past tense. So, did that mean she no longer had one to go home to? Getting straight answers out of the mysterious girl was an impossible task he had come to repeat for the last few days. She wouldn't give him any kind of information to her identity or origin. She would just reply with simple cut and dry responses. At this point it was becoming frustrating.

Honestly, Jaune should have just taken her to the hospital. They could deal with the stubborn girl better than he ever could. Then he'd be free to continue only worrying about himself as it should be. It was the smart thing to do.

But every time he thought about taking her to the hospital, to anyone that could help her, he thought back to that pleading look in her eye. The fear in that single eye stopped him every time. It pulled at his heartstrings.

Jaune was an older brother. And his instincts as an older brother told him to just stop complaining and help her however he could. To turn May away would be the same as turning away one of his little sisters. And he just couldn't do that.

Knowing that the current line of speech would get him nowhere, Jaune switched subjects.

"So, I'm going to have to head out again today. I have a few jobs lined up and I won't be back for some time. Which means I'm going to have to leave you in charge of the place while I'm gone!" Jaune said enthusiastically.

May glanced back at the beaming blond, observing him as she found herself doing that a lot lately. She searched deep into those blue eyes, spying for anything he was hiding. And as always, she found nothing.

No ulterior motive, no sign of any ill plans, nothing.

To her surprise, Jaune was just some ordinary teenager running his own odds shop. Albeit poorly.

For the past few days, he would leave her by herself, a complete stranger, in his own home/shop. Sure, she was sick and too weak to do much, but the very notion was hard to believe. What right minded person would leave a stranger in their home to do what they wanted? She could have been faking everything and robbed him blind. Or worse, killed him in cold blood. Yet he left her in bed, with some wrapped hot food by her bedside, and trusted her to still be there when he came back.

May's eye lingered after the blond boy, studying him thoroughly. In the end, she turned away with a soft sigh.

What did it matter? Once she was back on her feet, he would be nothing but a fleeting thought. One of many she left behind with the silent muffled bang of a rifle. She still had a mission to complete after all.

No witnesses could be left behind.

With a weak groan, May found the strength to sit up, causing Jaune to worry and fret over her as he moved to help. She shook her head, signaling him to stop. She looked down at her slightly shaking hands. Her eye was melancholic, practically empty to anyone with a sharp eye.

How long? How long until those hands were painted red again? Just how long was she going to continue washing her hands of the ugly, sickly, iron scented color?

May's visible eye widened slightly at the stray string of thoughts, taken back as her fists balled up with a shaken breath.

Such thoughts were taboo. Any signs of second guessing oneself would lead to punishment and tuning. And no matter how emotionless they would become they would still suffer at the sound.

The sound of what should be a melodious whistle, which only brought to their ears pure agony and suffering. Just the thought of the sound scratched at her brain like rusted nails slowly raking the folds of her brain with sadistic pleasure. It was enough for her to start trembling.

"Hey, are you alright!? May, what's wrong!? What's hurting, are you feeling sick again, do you need more medicine!?"

Broken out of her memory, May was startled to find Jaune's arms around her shoulders, giving the trembling girl a light shake. His worried eyes washed over her, the very sight causing something in her chest to throb. She hated it, but refused to show any hostility. She still had a cover to keep.

"I'm fine, just getting used to moving around without any pain." May lied, inwardly wincing at the terrible lie.

Jaune's face was still worried and cautious but dropped the matter with a smile. She was a lot braver than most her age, he had to give her that.

"If you say so. Really though, you shouldn't be moving around if you're still unwell." he chuckled.

May nodded, not truly listening to his words. She sighed deeply, her thoughts focused on a singular issue. Composure, she had to keep her composure in check. Any signs of weakness would lead to termination. Even now.

Now that she was feeling better, and remembering Jaune's words before, May grimaced as sniffed herself. She still smelled of rain water and trash. Even with a set of freshly washed clothing, she still reeked.

"You wouldn't mind if I showered, would you?" May asked with another grimace, feeling her skin with distaste.

"Go ahead, I insist actually." Jaune smirked, earning a small glare from the sick girl. He chuckled, raising his hands up in defense, "Don't worry, I got some soap and shampoo in the shower for you to use, plus a spare towel. So, help yourself whenever you want. You're also free to grab yourself something to eat. Lucky for you, I just stocked the fridge!" he exclaimed proudly.

May stared at the strange boy and his proud accomplishment. Someone was a little too proud of such a simple-minded task. It was like he won a golden medal.

Sadly, Jaune might as well have. It wasn't every day that his fridge was stocked up to feed more than one person.

"All I ask is that you watch out for the place, okay?" Jaune asked with a simple grin on his face.

May felt some irritation at that. What was she, a child? It was like he was talking down to her like she was his little sister being left behind at home while he went out for a chore.

Stretching his back, Jaune fought another yawn as he patted the annoyed red rusted haired girl's head while heading for the door. May was finally able to move about it seemed. No need for him to do everything for her. Before closing the door behind him, Jaune looked back to the stranger he had taken in from the rain.

"You know, if you don't want to leave, you don't have to. You're more than free to stay as long as you need. So, don't push yourself."

With the click of the door, May was left alone in what was once Jaune's room. She moved a stray lock of her short hair back, her empty eye staring ahead at nothing.

 _'All I ask is that you watch out for the place, okay?'_

May sighed in relent as she got up and headed to the bathroom.

She supposed that she could at least grant him that one request for all that he's done.

* * *

Sweat, grime, and dirt coated just about every inch of Jaune's skin. The simple white work shirt he had been given clung to his chest, dirty and soaked in his own sweat as his arms bulged from the strain of lifting a boulder. He sucked in a deep breath and with one motion, hefted the heavy piece of boulder and tossed it into the large metal canister by his side. The boulder fell in with the collective pile of its kind as Jaune heaved a sigh of relief. He scratched the side of his scalp, lifting the yellow hard hat a bit. If there was ever a time to take a small moment to relax, it was now. If he didn't he felt his muscles were going to rip apart at the seams.

The cloudless blue sky greeted Jaune as he looked up, the bright and scalding hot sun above dropping its rays down onto him and the many construction workers working under the blazing sun. All around him you could see various workers going on about their own duties, from lifting piles of dirt with machine, mixing cement, breaking rocks, drilling into the ground, setting up pipes in the trenches, or whatever was needed to tear down the old structure and build a new one. With another tired sigh leaving his lips, Jaune turned back to the slowly dwindling pile of rocks by his side before going back to work.

This was Jaune's current job, the one he had found thanks to Yang's recommendation. It was a pure manual labor job that took more muscle than brain. But the pay was good, about 10Lien per hour. Sure, there were no health benefits, and he was constantly surrounded by danger, not to mention the hygiene around here wasn't what one would call sanitary, but work was work. Three days a week for about five hours netted him a hundred and sixty Lien without any taxes chipping away at his nice check. It was just too bad it would only last for a month. They only needed the extra pair of hands for this one site.

Unless Jaune could prove to them he was a good worker. He was sure that if he didn't mess up, did his job, with little complaints, and proved himself a valued member of the team, they would hire him again. Who knows? Maybe he could abandon his failing shop and go into construction? At least then he would have a steady paycheck. He couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous thought.

Tossing another boulder into the canister, Jaune cleaned off the dirt and sweat from his face with a white rag stuffed in the loop of his belt before a smirk of accomplishment rose up. That was the last of the debris for the moment. It may have taken him a good half hour, but it was done. He just wished his arms didn't feel like jelly. Rubbing the sore limbs, Jaune turned his head back with a shout.

"HEY, TURNER! THE DEBRIS IS ALL SET TO GO!"

With a good smack to the side of the canister to emphasize the task done, Jaune waited for the yellow dirt marked loader to arrive. He stepped to the far side, giving thumps up to the driver as the vehicle lifted the canister and carried off to dispose of. That was one job done, now onto the next. Jaune spun his head around, searching for the leader of their little demolishing party to be advised on his next task.

In his search, Jaune frowned lightly at the sight of a burly and muscled worker carrying an armful of tools. The man was oblivious to everything around him as his feet took him to his station, his hearing deafened by the white earbuds in his ears. The man nodded along to the tune with a grin on his face.

Jaune automatically felt sorry for the man, _'If the boss finds him walking around like that, he's going to be manhandled in front of the rest of the guys.'_ It was a rule to always be aware of your surrounding on the site. The place was full of dangers and deathtraps. It was no surprise to see many of the manly men working around the site with scars and stories to tell. And the head foreman was more than eager to share his own stories and make his own to the ignorant men around him. Jaune shivered at the sound of the man's cracking knuckles recorded in his memory. No one needed to warn Jaune of the consequences.

Ready to turn away from the poor soul, Jaune was suddenly taken back as several alarmed shouts blew up around him. His frown deepened as he noticed several men begin to run over to the ignorant worker before his blue gaze fell up. His eyes went wide in alarm. A gurney lifting several tree trunk like iron beams began to fall down onto the worker, the tight rope snapping by some bad stroke of luck. And the man listening to his tunes with a beat in his step was blissfully unaware of his own demise. There was no question, the man would die. Either killed by the force of the metal falling or from the wounds caused by the beams stabbing through him.

Jaune felt adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Said unaware man suddenly stopped, blinking as he watched several of his buddies run after him with panic and desperation. It was only than that his favorite song had stopped playing that he heard the shouts and took notice of the large growing shadow under him. He looked up and froze at the many iron beams ready to crush him. He couldn't move a muscle.

Something sped past the construction workers before they reached their coworker, like a blur of white. The frozen man below the falling beams suddenly gasped deeply as he felt two feet plant themselves onto his side. His brown eyes fell on the intense blue meeting his own before he felt the feet meeting his ribs kick him off his feet and off the spot. The man grunted in pain as he was pushed off and skidded on his back with a cloud of dirt kicking up. Another cloud rose, blowing up with the crashing beams missing him and digging deeply into the dirt with several metal clangs.

Everyone watching covered their mouths and coughed, the dirt cloud lingering before their eyes fell back at the center of the commotion. They weren't sure what they just saw, only remembering the blur that shot past them faster than they could react. The surprise wore off quickly as a few of the burly men ran over to check on their friend. Relief filled them at the sight of their friend slowly rise up and rub his aching side.

"What the hell just hit me?" the man grunted as he ripped off his earbuds. It felt like his ribs had cracked! Luckily, he was sure that he would only suffer a bruise come morning and some soreness. Better than the alternative.

The cloud of dirt slowly died down, allowing the workers gathered around to finally make out what had just sped past them. They fell into a stupor, stunned at what they saw.

Laying on his backside, Jaune gasped desperately for air as he leaned back on the dirt. A few inches away from the lanky boy you could see the large beams digging into the dirt ruthlessly from where the worker had once stood.

 _'I-I can't feel my legs! I think some dirt entered my lungs too!'_ Jaune was drained, completely. Forget how sore his arms had been, his legs were pudding! He flinched while trying to stand, only for his legs to protest. He hung his head in defeat, knowing he couldn't force what didn't want to listen. His own body was rebelling like some high school punk.

Jaune wasn't sure what had happened. In that single moment, adrenaline had filled him and his body moved without a thought. An instinct had taken over. And something odd had... boosted his actions? It reminded him of that odd feeling he would have when Raven had treated his wounds with a simple touch.

 _'Don't you see, Jaune? You have more than what it takes to be a soldier. All you needed was a proper instructor to push you. Continue to follow my example, and it won't be long until your father and sister have no choice but to allow you to follow them.'_

An old voice from long ago, well-spoken and sophisticated, spoke to him in praise, greatly confusing Jaune as he held his head. He knew that voice. Right? Shaking his head, Jaune grimaced and his legs brought him back from whatever had come over him.

Fighting with his legs, Jaune finally gathered the strength to stand back up on his own two feet. His legs trembled, almost dropping him back down until Jaune steadied them. Groaning lightly, he finally took notice of the small crowd of tall, strong, intimidating muscled construction workers gathered around him. They stared at Jaune, making him feel uneasy. He gulped nervously.

"Uh, is something wrong, guys?" Jaune smiled with a tremble in his voice.

A strong palm smacked Jaune's back, nearly stumbling him forward as he blinked and cheers blew up. Now he was really confused.

"Did you see that?! The shrimp actually saved Bronz!"

"The boy was like a bullet for a second! Who knew the blond had it in him?"

"How the hell did you do that? Bronz would have been a goner if you didn't jump in like that!"

Jaune wasn't sure what to do in the face of all the praise fallen on him. He really didn't do anything, it was his body that had reacted for him. Scratching the back of his head, he simply stood there with an embarrassed grin as more of the workers gave him a pat on his back. At least they weren't treating him like a twig anymore. He remembered his first day here where just about everyone scoffed at his lanky appearance and treated him like a weight that had to be dragged around. Guess saving one of their own gave him some credit in their eyes.

Another pat had Jaune stumbling a bit and he turned his eyes to meet the thankful brown eyes of the worker he had kicked out of the way. The tan man was taller than Jaune, which was saying something since he was about 6 feet, with a shaved beard already growing back and a bald head under his hard hat. He looked like the kind of guy that would typically be seen wearing a leather jacket and riding a hardy bike.

"You saved my life, blond shrimp puff! I can't thank you enough for the save. Though, I wish you would have been gentler with those cannons you call legs." the man grinned ruefully as he patted his bruised side. Jaune felt some guilt at that but the muscled man just laughed, "Don't go being sad now! Rather a bruise than a tome stone. Trust me, my girls back home are more than happy to see some bruises than their old man bloody and dead." he said with a bittersweet smirk.

"It's your own damn fault, Bronz!" Another man chimed in beside the man named Bronz. This man had a beard that reached his neck, overweight with fat and muscle, sported brown short hair. He punched Bronz's arms with enough force to make the man groan before turning a big old grin Jaune's way, "Our thanks for saving Bronz. The damn idiot only started a week ago and still hasn't learned that he should be keeping his ears open. The hell were you even listening too?" he asked his friend.

"DimeBack."

"...Ya got some crappy taste in music, Bronz."

"Shut up, Dail."

Flipping his friend off, Bronz turned back to Jaune while the workers around them began to head back to work.

"Seriously though, thanks for the save. Is there any way I can repay you?" Bronz asked earnestly.

Jaune shook his head, still feeling embarrassed at all the attention he had received. It wasn't every day that people looked at you like some kind of hero.

"No, it's fine! As long as you're safe, there's no-" To Jaune's horror, and increasing embarrassment, his stomach decided to speak up with a barking growl. It decided to remind him that his breakfast was not the most satisfying. Too bad it would have to wait until he got home.

Bronz grinned widely as Jaune, knowing what he could do.

"Say, it's about time for our lunch break. How about you join us, shrimp puff?" Bronz suggested. He didn't wait for Jaune's sputtering denials as he began to lead the young man away.

Jaune was ready to protest, flailing his arms as both workers took him along.

"What about work?! I still got another hour and a half before my shift ends!"

The large man beside Jaune waved off the concern as he scratched his beard, "Nah, don't worry. Boss man will understand taking a small break. I'm sure even he saw what ya did. Otherwise he'd be shouting at us to get our lazy asses back to work."

There wasn't much fighting or protesting and Jaune relented with a sigh. Well, he supposed he could take a break after what just happened. At least so he could recover from the strain. He frowned in thought as he noticed something odd. The pain in his legs and arms had eased, almost as if they had healed themselves.

How the hell did that happen?

* * *

"Look at that fine lady! What a pair of legs on her!"

"Hey, sweet thing! How about giving us a little twirl? Come on!"

"YEAH! Shake that thang! Woo! Ya see that?! She winked at me!"

"As if! She was looking my way! Get that shit out of your eyes!"

"Oh, ya wanna go!?

"LET'S GO!"

Jaune grew nervous as the beam they were all sitting on began to wobble slightly with two of the workers eating with them breaking out into a small scuffle. He gripped the sandwich in hand tightly as one of them smacked his side by accident. His heart hammered in his chest at the contact, his eyes peering over the dangerous drop from his current position.

 _'Whose bright idea was it to eat on a beam?! This has got to be against regulations!'_ Up high in the air on a what they had assured him was a tightly secured rust colored beam, Jaune sat alongside Bronz and a few of his coworkers as they enjoyed their box lunches. They were up high enough to see on the other side of the fence close by, a nice little view for them to enjoy as they ate. If it wasn't for all the cat calls some of the guys were throwing out to every woman that passed by.

Having enough of the small fight, Bronz shouted at the two men to stop.

"Calm down, you idiots! We got a guest with us, no need to scare him! Besides," Bronz grinned smugly with a thump pointed at himself, "We all know she was looking at me!"

"Bullshit!"

"Ya already got a wife! Fuck off!"

"Like she would go for some bald bitch!"

Bronz felt a vein throb in annoyance as he shook his fist at the men jeering at him.

"Ignore them, shrimp. They're just jealous of my rugged good looks." Bronz's smirked as he bumped shoulders with Jaune. Taking a bite of his sandwich, he gave Jaune a quizzical stare as he watched the young man eat his own food at a steady pace and a gaze at the distance.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here, shrimp?"

Jaune gave the man he saved a griped pointed stare as he turned away from the nice view. "You know, my names Jaune. Not shrimp." he grumbled only for Bronz to laugh heartily.

"Everyone's a shrimp compared to me! Not to mention you're a lankly guy. Seriously, what are you doing around here? What are you, nineteen?"

"Eighteen, actually." Jaune answered, Bronz not being too far off the mark; he took a sip of the grape soda he was given. Both the drink and the sandwich were from Bronz, the man being kind enough to pay for the drink and share his lunch with him as a small thank you. Again, Jaune found himself staring off towards the city of Vale, eyeing the main buildings and construction sites close by with a far-off stare.

"As for what I'm doing, working, duh." Jaune shrugged nonchalantly.

Bronz rolled his eyes dryly, waving his hand around for the kid to continue, "And? Don't you have anything else to do other than hard labor? What are you, a drop out?" he asked curiously, only for Jaune to shake his head.

"I actually graduated and got my diploma."

Bronz and the other workers quirked their brows as they stared at the blond. That was more than half of them. Working hard labor wasn't exactly something many of them needed qualifications for. As long as they could deal with the labor and didn't complain, then they were in.

"Really? Where'd you go to school?" One of them asked.

Jaune rubbed the back of his head, appearing nervous as he answered weakly.

"I graduated from Beacon Academy."

The men grew silent at Jaune's answer, their stares going blank as Jaune gulped. It was Bronz who shook off the shock first before looking at the boy dumbfounded.

"Beacon? Beacon Academy? One of the four most renowned schools on Remnant that can cost you an arm and a leg to get in? That Beacon Academy?" Bronz said slowly.

Jaune nodded with a sweating grin. Right, he almost forgot how well renowned Beacon was.

Beacon Academy. One of four schools on Remnant that taught the best of the best in just about all fields of education. The most well-known leaders, sports players, musicians, scientists, and etc. came from either Beacon, Haven, Atlas, or Shade. Those with dreams for the stars would reach for a position in either school. It truly was the best of the best. And Jaune was a graduate of said renowned school.

All the stars and bangles surrounding the school really didn't mean much to Jaune. Despite its reputation, Beacon was just an ordinary school. The only difference being the high-end facilities on campus. And the eccentric teachers and students that attended it. Despite Beacon being a well renown school, it was still just a school. That being said, it wasn't like he was accepted for being the best.

"Seriously, what are you doing here?" Bronz couldn't help but ask with a quizzical frown, "Anyone who's got a diploma from Beacon ought to have more options open for him than working freelance labor. Unlike the rest of us that can't find any better jobs. I know I would have given anything to have graduated from a place like Beacon." Bronz said wistfully while downing the last of his water.

"Tell me about it." one of the guys beside Jaune chortled at the thought, "I was dumb when I was younger and dropped out of school before my last year. Now, I can only get work doing labor like this. If I had me some fancy diploma, I wouldn't be coming home sore and dirty. Not to mention I wouldn't smell like a still." he grinned widely as he lifted his pit, causing everyone's faces to twist in disgust.

Jaune pinched his nose from the stench before laying back on the beam with a sigh. They were right, a diploma from Beacon would have helped him get whatever job he wanted. It was a like a golden ticket for some. All he needed was a goal. But that was the problem.

What the hell did he want to do with his life? He had only graduated with the help of his friends supporting him and average grades. It was a stroke of luck that he had made it past graduation. But in all that time he had, Jaune never thought too long on what he was going to do once he graduated. The only thing he had thought of was returning home, back where he belonged.

Back where his true dream had been dropped. Back where the memories and regret would greet him. Back to returning to his role as the stumbling older brother.

Back as the failure.

Combing back his hair with some frustration, Jaune released a solemn sigh, his blue eyes turned up to the equally empty blue sky.

"I wish I had an answer for you. I don't even know what I'm doing myself. Guess, I'm kinda lost at the moment." Jaune answered tiredly.

Right now, he was more focused on keeping a roof over his head. That's all that mattered. Where his future would lead him was on the back burner. As long as he kept the little shop of odd jobs up and running, that was enough. After all, he couldn't let down the man who had given him a purpose after he had lost it.

Bronz nodded with understanding as he let the matter drop. He could understand the kid. He himself wasn't sure what to do once he had graduated school either. Finding what you wanted to do with your life wasn't so simple, even if you had the accommodations to achieve whatever you wanted. Sometimes you were just lost. And a kid his age still had plenty of time to find what he wanted to do with his life.

"Don't worry, shrimp. We all stumble every now and again. Just keep moving and I'm sure you'll find your way. If an old thug like myself can find purpose again, then so can you." Bronz grinned ruefully. "I got a wife, three kids, a nice home, and a good job despite its lack of safety. And that's after being lost for a good twenty years! Just keep your head up high, and when you find something that gives you purpose, don't let go. Whether it's an idea or a person, keep hold of it and you'll find your purpose." he said warmly.

Jaune stared at Bronz's, taken back by the comforting words as the guys behind him sniffed.

"Aw, why can't you say that kind of stuff to us? I got problems too!"

Bronz scoffed at the men with a dismissive wave, his eye bored and unsympathetic.

"Some of you are almost forty years old. Go die and try again."

"That's fucked up!"

The words were enough to lift Jaune's spirits as he felt his shoulders lose their tension. Just keep moving forward? Even if he had no idea where it would take him? _'I guess that's all I can do right now. Besides, as troubling as my current path is, it has its comforts.'_

He still had his friends, his family, and the roof above his head. Not many people could say the same. And Jaune was happy with his life even if he had his gripes. His future wasn't very clear, but he was content right now. And that was enough for a failure like him.

Glad to have taken the boy out of his slump, Bronz looked out to the street below them with an amused grin.

"Now that you're out of that funk, you should enjoy the view better. Who knows? You just might spy a nice pretty thing that has a thing for lanky blonds!" he teased while shaking Jaune's shoulder as the blond gained a flat expression.

"Yeah, no. If my mom ever caught me whistling at woman like pieces of meat, she would gut me." he said plainly.

"Hey! We're not perverts! We're simply admiring the finer things in life." Dial answered with a tone of sophistication. He suddenly grinned, spying an office woman passing by with the button of her suit undone to combat the heat, "Hey, baby! How you doing!?" he whistled with a jeer of hollers.

The office woman stuck her nose up at the sweaty and dirty construction workers before speeding up and ignoring the men.

"Yeah, how classy of you." Jaune said dryly before grunting as the heavy palm of Dial smacked his back. He glared at the fat neckbearded man as Dial smirked.

"Come on! Just one whistle! You can't say you're a man if you don't at least holler at one chick! Please, for old Dial?" the fat man's lips quivered, his eyes watering as he stared at Jaune pleadingly. Jaune felt his brow spasm at the sight. Was it rude to say the sight was disturbing?

Bronz laughed along with the others as Jaune was put on the spot, "Come on, Jaune! He's not going to let off until you at least whistle at one girl. It's not a crime and we promise not to tell your mom." he chuckled.

Jaune sighed, knowing there was no way out of this. Not like he could run either, literally being suspended in the air as they were. Unless he wanted to risk jumping to the ledge close by, he would have to play along. Just this once though, he was a gentleman after all. He nodded begrudgingly, getting a round of cheers from his coworkers as he waited for the next woman to pass by. He was in luck, he caught eye of another office woman walking by. He could only make out her slender figure and raven hair from the back before steeling his nerves.

Just one whistle and that was it. The worst he would get is a look of disgust before the woman left in a huff. He could do this.

With his fingers to his lips, Jaune shut his eyes tightly and released a high pitch whistle. The sound echoed in the air as the beam he sat suddenly rocked. He grew confused, opening his eyes to see what caused the motion before an odd foreboding hit him. He gulped, slowly turning his eyes down and meet leering blood red.

Raven Branwen, mother of his best friend Yang, looked up to see the object of her lust whistling down at her. She had no idea why Jaune was sitting on a beam out in the middle of Vale, but didn't question it as her eyes roamed his dirty and sweaty form. She licked her lips as her eyes locked on her prey.

Work could wait.

Jaune swallowed a shrill scream of terror at the sight of Raven of all people finding him. This was bad, really bad. Giving that woman any kind of ammo was sure to encourage her. He spun his head around for help form his coworkers, only to gape as he found himself alone on the beam.

 _'Those bastards! How could they leave me like this!?'_

Faintly, Jaune could make out the snickers and laughs from his coworkers. They must have jumped off towards the ledge once he shut his eyes. Now he was all alone.

Without a second thought to his safety, Jaune followed along with his coworkers and jumped for the ledge, nearly slipping as he hastily ran to escape Raven's gaze. He began to sweat profusely as he heard several surprised shouts from down below as a certain raven-haired mother broke into the site.

"Hey, lady! You can't-"

 **SMACK!**

Jaune grimaced at the sound but still made his way down and caught the sight of Raven knocking a large man out with a single swing of her briefcase. He whimpered as her eyes found him and a seductive smirk made its way to her lips.

"Oh, Jaune~!"

Thank god his legs were feeling better. Now if only he could repeat that boost from earlier. He'd be damned if he lost his virginity in a construction site of all places.

* * *

"Come on, Renny! If you don't hurry up, Jaune's going to come back before we even start! It's not every day that we can visit our old leader and greet him with a surprise lunch."

Laid back pink eyes followed the bouncing orange ginger form of his best friend as she skipped along the sidewalk with a spring in her step. The man had dark ebony hair that was neatly tied back in a ponytail that reached his back, a stray lock of hair dyed pink, a relaxed expression on his face. He was of eastern decent, that much you could tell from his looks alone and his choice of wear. He wore a green long-sleeved tailcoat with pink highlights and white slacks. He carried an air of calmness and patience, completely opposite of his girlfriend. Said girl was wearing a short sleeved black leather jacket over a pink shirt with a white heart stamped on her chest, and a frilly long pink skirt and roller skating boots.

His name was Lie Ren. And right now, he was being dragged along by his girlfriend to visit their friend after taking a day off their busy work schedule. At least he wasn't alone in this forceful visit. His magenta pink eyes glanced back, finding stoic yellow following behind as they carried a few plastic bags in their hands. The cat ears proudly displayed atop her head wiggled with the breeze.

"Are you sure we're not taking up any of your time, Blake?" Ren asked politely to the equally calm and patient cat faunus.

Blake quirked a brow at Ren, amused at the question before picking up the speed as Nora called out to them again.

"It's fine. I actually don't have much to do today, like you two I have the day off. And with everybody else busy, I'd thought I'd tag along too. It's been a while since I talked with Jaune anyways." Blake answered mirthfully. Currently, she was wearing a simple dark purple turtleneck to combat the approaching cold season, a pair of dark blue jeans, and ebony sandals.

The three had met up at the supermarket close by while Blake was out eyeing the discount fish. With her day free of any work or much else to do, she thought she could roam around the streets before her trusty nose for all things fishy caught a whiff of discount fish. When she had found out that the couple were going off to surprise their old friend with a lunch after he came back from work, she decided to join in. Like she said, it had been some time since she last talked with Jaune. It would be nice to see how he was doing since he made the wild idea to take up an odd jobs shop of all things. For a while, she had been worried about him after he had disappeared for a good month or so from their little circle. Only for the blond boy to come stumbling back as the proprietor of a freelance service.

Blake had questions. She was sure everyone else did as well. You just don't disappear for some time and come back as a shop owner like that. Not to mention the fact that she was sure Jaune knew nothing of running a business. It wasn't a surprise to hear word from Yang that Jaune's business wasn't exactly going smoothly. Last she got word of Jaune's business, he was constantly in the red.

Once upon a time, Blake would not have gone out of her way to butt into anyone else's business. She was a stoic person, her view on things could be jaded and cynical. It was a dog eat dog world after all. She had learned that much from her years as part of an organization that fought for equality. But since she had left and gone to Beacon with her mother's persuasion, she had gotten to meet a mix of odd people that would eventually become her closest friends. Those friends helped to brighten her world and see the world in a more positive light. Jaune just so happened to be one of those friends who had broken her out of her old ways.

If Jaune was in some sort of trouble, Blake wanted to help. Just as she did when he was having difficulty in his classes back when they attended Beacon. Funny, it hadn't been too long ago that they all helped one another in school. It seemed they would still be doing that even as they all began to slowly drift apart.

Blake felt a melancholic smile fall on her face. She had heard it before. How those friends you cherished and longed for in high school would eventually drift away in the years after. Everyone had their own dreams that would take them away to their own path. It had already happened with one of their own. Pyrrha Nikos, The Invincible Athlete, the Champion, their close friend, had already left them to pursue her own dreams of being the best Olympian in Remnant. She had returned home to train, despite her own reasons for wanting to stay. A small muffled chuckle left Blake's lips thinking to Pyrrha's sole reason.

Jaune just couldn't take a hint. Or simply couldn't make up his mind.

But it was happening. More and more, their little circle of friends found themselves seeing each other less and less. Weiss was busy studying at a local university, refusing to go back to Atlas to finish her studying for reasons. Yang was working at a local diner as a hostess and waitress at times while polishing her martial arts skills to enter the fighting circuit in the coming months. Ruby was still attending Beacon and coming into her final year before planning on leaving back home. And Ren and Nora were finally together-together, and planning on eventually leaving back to Ren's home in Anima. For the moment they were all together in the city of Vale, where they all met and became friends. But it wouldn't be long until Weiss left for Atlas to take over her family's company, Yang made it as a fighter and traveled around the world, Ruby graduated and left to work alongside her mother, and Ren and Nora went home.

As for Blake, well, the least said, the better.

But for now, Blake wanted to cherish what bonds they still held. Because it wouldn't be long until those bonds eventually faded. That was life, sadly. You just had to move on and enjoy the moments.

"We're here!"

Snapping out of her deep thoughts, Blake found themselves standing in front of a beaten down shop. At the front she could make out knick-knacks, foreign candies, and newspapers for sale. Her amber eyes glanced up, growing curious at the odd sign above that looked to be a simple breeze away from losing a letter.

 _'Crow's Nest?'_ The C was dangling, that wasn't her imagination.

Ren smirked in amusement at Blake's surprise and wariness, "I take it this the first time you've seen Jaune's business?" he asked politely, getting a slight nod as Blake turned her eyes back to the nonchalant couple.

"It's... quaint. Really, robust?" Blake said weakly with a small grimace.

"It's a rundown heap!" Nora brightly blurted with a wide grin, "No need to pretend it's anything else. Even our leader knows that."

"That doesn't mean you should state it to his face." Ren said flatly as he crossed his arms over his chest, "When we were first invited over, Nora had told him straight up that his shop was a worn-down heap. And when she learned that he was going to be living here and running it, she almost threw out the table and tied him up to kidnap him and take him with us. Something about not wanting our poor, lonely leader to die in a hole."

"But Renny~! He would make a great addition to our family! I'm sure An wouldn't mind if we brought home a cute and charming blond home with us!"

"You leave my mother out of this."

"Ah, ah, ah! Our mother."

Not this again. Ren fought with dragging his hand over his tired face as he exhaled.

Nora Lie Valkyrie. His best friend, adopted sister, and current girlfriend. There was something wrong in that sentence. But for his sanity, he would ignore it.

Standing awkwardly in front of the arguing couple, Blake coughed into her fist to get back their attention.

"So, how are we supposed to go inside?" She couldn't help but ask. If Jaune was smart, he would have locked up the place. And she trusted him enough to do such if he was now in charge of a business, however poor. "Did he give any of you a key?"

Nora blinked, puzzled at the word, "Key? Who needs a key!" she grinned brightly.

"Then how are yo-... No." Blake glared at the bubbly ginger girl as she ran up to the battered door. Nora wasn't listening to the sole faunus and brought back her leg with a maniacal laugh.

Ren stood to the side of his fellow stoic raven-haired friend, calm as ever.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it up for Jaune before he gets back." Was all Ren could offer. A good thing he had brought some tools along.

The door, no matter what material it could have been made up, could not stand against the almighty force that was Nora. With a kick to the door, Nora snapped the poor hinges off and cracked the frame as it swung open with an audible boom. Blake was open mouthed, gaping at the sight as Ren subtly glanced to the bag of tools in his hand.

"...I'm going to need to run back later for more."

Nora grinned in apology as she dusted off her skirt, "Yeah, I'm going to have to apologize to Jaune later. So, let's get cooking! The way to a man's heart is food after all! No one can be mad when they're stuffed like a turkey!"

Well, nothing they could do now. Ren shrugged, following Nora into their friend's shop. Blake eyed the door warily but followed nonetheless, thinking twice of her decisions to join Ren and Nora. This wasn't exactly how she wanted to see Jaune again. Idly, she noticed no alarms were going off as Ren tried to shut the door behind them. Various wares were on display to sell, snacks, books, drinks, and other random junk. She couldn't help but frown at it all.

"What does Jaune's service entail?"

"All sorts of things, really. Random jobs, selling treats, basically whatever a freelance job asks for. You know our leader, he's a jack of all trades. He's like an army knife!" Nora answered back with a giggle as she jumped over the register. Personal boundaries meant nothing to the girl and she popped open the register despite her friend's protests. She grimaced at the sight.

"46 bucks? That's not even enough to feed me lunch!"

"She's not kidding." Ren stated as fact to Blake.

Reaching into her pocket in her leather jacket, Nora smiled and dropped in another fifty Lien before shutting it with a ding. There, now her beloved leader wouldn't be so down. Might as well take some snacks while she was at it. He was running a business after all. She grinned to herself, proud of what little help she could do for her friend.

Ready to jump over the counter, Nora suddenly grew curious as her nose twitched. Something smelled, something good. She shut her eyes in concentration, taking in the familiar scent before her.

It smelled like chicken noodle soup.

Ren frowned as he picked up at the smell too along with Blake, growing tense as he eyed the way upstairs. No one was home. The smell was fresh, not something that had been left behind after Jaune left. He shut his own eyes and placed his hand on the wall of the room.

"Ren?" Blake asked warily, her faunus ears twitching.

The eastern man didn't answer, focused completely on whatever he was doing. It wasn't until a few seconds had passed did his magenta eyes snap open. His frown grew into a stern scowl.

"Nora, watch the front door. If Jaune arrives, keep him distracted and don't let him in without my signal. Got it?" Ren moved over to the stairs behind the counter, his shoulders squared as his muscles tensed. Nora didn't argue with her boyfriend, saluting the usually lax man with a smirk.

"If ya need any backup, just give me a shout! Ain't no one going to screw with our buddy."

Blake was confused at the sudden turn of events. What was Ren doing? It was almost like he was going off to a fight. Her ears twitched again, standing up straight as she finally made out the sound she was picking up above.

Footsteps.

There was an intruder stalking inside Jaune's shop. Other than themselves. Someone must have broken into the blond's home. The lack of any form of security made it an easy target for any thief. Never mind the odd fact that they were cooking, whoever broke in was now inside doing who knows what to their friend's place. It could be more than one as well.

Blake reached for her scroll, ready to dial the authorities to the trespasser before Ren's voice stopped her at the last digit.

"Don't. It would be too much of a bother for Jaune, especially since he's not here. Not to mention we broke in too." Stopping at the foot of the steps, Ren glanced back at Blake with a calm smile, "It's just one person. I'll handle them and we'll see what happens from there. Just watch out for Nora in case they slip past me. I don't trust her to leave them without a broken set of legs."

"Boo! Why do you get all the fun?"

Not waiting for Blake to reply, Ren headed up the stairs while his right hand slipped for his ankle. A hidden sheath could be seen as he moved the pants leg up and slipped out a small decorative dagger with a lotus insignia. He spun the blade in his hand, holding it in reverse. He reached the upper level without a sound, his magenta eyes peering into the dark living room, noting that the curtains had been raised to block out any light from entering. It appeared the intruder knew they had company.

Something cut through the air with a faint whistle. Ren moved quickly, leaning his head to the right as he caught something sliver nearly graze his cheek. A silver kitchen knife, normally too dull to cut anything other than soft bread, embedded itself deep into the wall behind him. Another whistle caught his ears and he leaned down and ran into the living room. The forks thrown his way missed but he didn't slow until he reached the middle of the room and flipped the wooden coffee table over himself. Another volley of cutlery smacked into the wood, threatening to break through. Which they did.

The intruder smirked as the next volley of silverware pierced the wood and hit their mark. Their joy was short lived however when they saw the forks and knives fall with a clatter, no blood in sight. It was like they hit some wall instead of flesh.

 _'Where did Jaune even get this many forks and knives? Who carries an army's worth in their kitchen?'_

Having enough with simply blocking, Ren threw aside the coffee table and ducked under three forks heading his way. His eyes caught a figure in the darkness, leaping from the kitchen and heading his way. The small figure was fast, reaching him in seconds with a serrated knife aimed to slice his chest. A clang rang out as Ren met the knife with his dagger. The intruder's single blue eye was stunned as their attack was blocked before they leapt back. Ren clicked his teeth, only making out the stranger's small stature and blue eye. The girl was good. They were using the darkness to their advantage.

This wasn't some ordinary robber. Their movements were too quick and fluid to be that of some ordinary thug or punk who sought to break in for some quick cash.

Ren watched the intruder skirt around the modest living room like a dark blur. Again, Ren caught the faint whistle of a shooting knife and deflected it before jumping a few steps back. The intruder dove straight for the spot he had stood, stabbing her knife deep into the floor. The intruder suddenly hissed, sounding as if they were in pain. Ren watched the intruder struggle to stand back up from the diving stab with scrutiny. It looked like they were hurt. Well, that was too bad for them.

 _'Not now!'_ May sucked in a sharp breath as she reached for another kitchen knife tucked in her skirt. She glowered at the intruder standing a few feet away from her, their eyes meeting hers with equal disdain.

A few minutes ago, May had been in the kitchen, cooking some of Jaune's homemade chicken noodle soup that he had left behind before she heard the sound of the front door being kicked in. At the sound of multiple voices, she had automatically assumed that they were robbers. Criminals who had no right to be breaking into this house. Her hand had flown for the nearby knife and tightened around the hilt.

 _'All I ask is that you watch out for the place, okay?'_

May's eyes had hardened before she gathered whatever silverware she could use at her disposal. In the hands of someone like her, even a spoon could prove a death sentence to whoever broke in.

Unfortunately, she had forgotten about her sprained ankle in the moment. The injured muscles cried out from the strain of her movements, nearly sending her stumbling as she readied herself to attack. In that moment, she was open.

Ren moved like snake, striking at the intruder with pinpoint accuracy. May bit back a gasp from her aching ankle and moved to block. Steel sang as the two swiftly and skillfully attacked and blocked one another. May moved a step back as Ren's dagger fell down in a straight line with such force she could make out a line of the glinting steel flashing. Her hand reached for another knife, a cleaver used for cutting through the bone of meat, and dual wielded blades. She used the cleaver to parry the next swing. Ren grimaced at the heavy blow, the force of the attacked shooting up his arm.

What the hell kind of strength did the girl possess? That wasn't normal.

The serrated knife spun in May's hand, the girl lashing out with a surprise swing. The attack landed true and cut a deep groove along Ren's shoulder. He scowled at the girl, refusing to take his eyes off of her despite the feeling of blood flowing down his arm. He watched the girl enter his personal space, allowing him a good look at the intruder, her single blue eye narrowing dangerously.

One cut along the jugular, and that would be it. She would have to clean up the mess quickly after dealing with the other intruders before Jaune came back. She couldn't blow her cover over a measly robber.

Anxiety. Fear. Depression. A cold sweat came over May's body as her eyes quivered. Her breath grew unsteady, shallow and desperate for air as her heart hammered against her chest. Her tearing up blue eye followed the intruder's arm, catching her arm before she could slit his throat in one motion. His cool magenta eyes bore into her, almost as if he was staring into her very being.

Ren sighed, his eyes watching the young girl fall to her knees with a face stricken with utter despair. The knives in her hands fell with a clatter, the girl on the verge of an emotional breakdown. It was a sight that made him feel some regret.

Some.

He was ready for it, the very second that his hand let go of the intruder and she regained some semblance of control of her emotions. Abandoning the weapons by her feet, she threw a fist his way with a snarl, the tears that had been building in her lone eye now falling freely. He easily blocked the attack and the next swing before kicking his knee up into her gut. She gasped audibly before spots bled into her vision from a lashing kick to the side of her face. Her body flew towards the three-seat couch, smacking against the cushions and toppling it.

May's vision spun as she laid back on the floor, her face bruising and her rusty red hair fell over her forehead. Her beanie had come off from the powerful blow, landing somewhere in the room. It was a small mercy that her left eye was hidden by her hair.

 _'W-What happened?'_ Idly, she could hear the intruder's footsteps coming over to check on her. Or finish her. One thing became clear though.

This man wasn't normal.

A foot planted itself on her bruising stomach, pinning her back onto the floor as she tried to get up. Again, she felt those negative emotions she had thought she had long abandoned surface at his touch. Panic and anxiety filled her being, her body quivering at the all but foreign emotions. Her eyes met those of her enemy, only a pathetic whimper escaping her lips.

"Why are you here?" Ren got straight to the point, keeping his foot atop the girl. His voice was cold and his magenta eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. "It doesn't appear as if you've stolen anything to my knowledge. The register below wasn't tampered with and the safe appeared to be intact. If you're not here for money, then why are you here? Answer carefully." his words seemed to grow colder, almost like the ice of Atlas.

"Your answer will determine your fate."

Sadly, May wasn't listening to a word Ren was saying. Along with the dread she was feeling, she was also filled with an anger that was only amplified by the strange force creating the negative emotions within her. Her sense of judgment was thrown out the window, a hidden knife in her sleeve slipped free and fell into her hand. Her face twisted into a furious snarl, her arm lashing out with the full intent of gutting the man before her.

Ren watched the sharp kitchen ware steel flash before his eyes.

It was all the answer he needed.

May didn't have any time to process what happened next before her vision went black. The knife fell from her hand, her thoughts gone in the dark lull of unconsciousness.

With a weary sigh, Ren moved back his striking palm and he released his foot from the young girl. Now that he had a good look at the home invader he felt the small guilt grow. Which only grew as he noticed the sweat on the girl's forehead along with the heat.

With a heavy sigh, Ren slipped out his scroll from his pocket while he roamed around the living room. The fight hadn't been long but it looked like they had done some damage to the place. It looked like he would have to make it up to Jaune later. Idly kicking the broken coffee table by his foot, Ren finished sending a quick text to Nora. He would need someone to tie her up and restrain her. And for once, he wasn't speaking of Nora. With that done Ren moved onto the next step as he brought up his contacts.

 **'Lie-C.'**

Bringing in the authorities would be too much and would only trouble his friend. It looked like he was going to have to use a few cards he had in his sleeve.

Burnt chicken caused Ren to grimace as he turned back to the kitchen. Walking over he was surprised to find a small burning pot of what remained of chicken soup on the stove. He shut the burner off with a cough and waved away the black smoke.

 _'Why would a stranger break into someone's home and cook soup? That doesn't make any sense.'_ Something was off here. Not only did it seem like they didn't steal anything, but clearly, they were unwell, and they were reheating soup? Maybe she wasn't a criminal. For all he knew, she could be some homeless girl that broke in for some food.

The thumb hovering over the contact paused.

Still, the girl was obviously a threat. A normal person shouldn't have been able to move as quick as she could, especially in her condition. And the intent behind her single eye made him involuntarily shudder.

That was a gaze no girl her age should have.

What to do, what to do? At least Jaune wasn't home. That would only complicate things further.

* * *

"I... I am lacking words for what I'm seeing."

Jaune gawked at the door less frame to his humble store, his eye twitching at the torn hinges.

Work had come to an end and with his construction job done for the day and the other freelance jobs taken care of beforehand, he had gone straight home for a nice, long, well deserved shower. He was dirty, sweaty, smelly, and suffered several visible kisses on his face from a very affectionate raven. Even his skill in dodging and evading couldn't fully save him from the single mother. So, of course he was hoping to unwind after a long work day before opening up the counter for a few stragglers wandering into his place for some extra Lien.

But then he came to find his front door kicked in. He was at a loss of words right now. Was he being robbed? Or was that what already happened?

Scratching his head in frustration, Jaune made his way into his store with a growl and a pop of his fist. For their sake they better have been smart enough to leave. Rolling his shoulder for a confrontation with a scumbag, he was suddenly taken by surprise to find stunned and awkward amber eyes in front of the stairway.

"Blake?"

Said cat faunus waved a hand, not sure what to do as she hastily wiped the milk from her upper lip.

"Hi, Jaune?" Blake chuckled lightly with her eyes looking anywhere but at him.

Several moments went by in silence as Jaune stood in front of Blake, said feline friend blocking his way from reaching the living floor above. He waited patiently, crossing his arms with a quirked brow for his friend to explain herself. In the end, she wasn't saying a word and he sighed.

"So, how long's it been? What? A month since we last talked? Did I by chance do anything that would warrant you kicking down my door and raiding my store fridge for milk? Because I'm drawing a blank." Jaune said dryly as he watched Blake gain a blush on her face from embarrassment. The stoic girl could never hold her composure when she was caught red handed.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you I wasn't the one to kick in your door?" Blake said weakly.

Jaune rolled his eyes with a sigh, "Then who did? Nora?"

"…"

Jaune narrowed his eyes and Blake chose to admire the floor. He held his gaze for a few minutes while the twitch in his eyes became more pronounced.

"She's here, isn't she." That was a fact, not a question. Seeing the slight nod from Blake, Jaune massaged his temple with a groan. Why couldn't it have been a robber?

Scratching his scalp again from the irritation, Jaune patted Blake's head while subtly moving her aside so he could go up the stairs. Well, that explained why he had gotten a text early in the morning from Nora asking what his plans for the day were. She was up to something and it scared him as to what his old friend could be doing.

"I really want to know why you of all people are here with Nora, and Ren I'm guessing, but right now I have to stop a certain bubbly Valkyrie from whatever mischief she's conducting."

Blake grew alarmed as Jaune made his way up the stairs, running after him as she grabbed his hand.

Nora had gone up to help Ren with restraining the robber and had asked her to watch out for Jaune if he came home early. It wasn't safe for their friend to go up right now.

"A-Actually, how about we just stay down here and chat!?" Blake urged nervously as Jaune glanced back at her in confusion, "It's been some time since we last spoke to one another, so how about we catch up? There really is no reason for you to go upstairs."

"...Oh, now I have to go upstairs." Jaune said adamantly, leaving no room for discussion as he stomped upstairs, dragging along a struggling Blake.

"BUT IT'S NOT SAFE!"

"OF COURSE, IT'S NOT SAFE! I'VE GOT A SUGAR JUNKIE OBSESSED WITH SLOTHS IN MY HOME WITH GIDDY INTENTIONS!"

Fighting against Blake's surprisingly strong hold, Jaune made it up and prepared himself for whatever mayhem awaited him. But as his feet touched the wooden floor leading to the living room, he made contact with something metallic under his shoes. He frowned and he looked down and found a few forks on the floor. Oh no, his beloved kitchen! Well, Qrow's beloved kitchen really.

"Nora! You got some explaining t-" Jaune's voice abruptly died as he stepped into his living room and found the place a mess. His sofas were torn by numerous cuts, his coffee table was smashed, his curtains were torn and forks and knives were embedded in the walls. Sadly, all that was the least of his worries right now.

Standing in the middle of the room where his coffee table should have been were both Nora and Ren. The energetic girl with ginger hair waved her hand at him nervously with a bundle of rope in hand while Ren stood to the side amid a conversation with his scroll, sparing him an apologetic glance. Again, that was the least of his worries. His eyes were solely focused on the rust haired girl in a school uniform sitting unconscious in a chair.

"MAY!? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU!?" Jaune shouted in alarm before running towards the sick girl. He ignored his friends and the looks of surprise as he patted her cheeks for a response.

Nora was the first to recover from the little bomb of information as she stared at Jaune incredulously.

"Wait, you know this chick? I thought she was some robber or something."

Jaune shook his head with a deep frown, his eyes still focused on May, "What? NO! May's not a robber or anything like that! She's a girl I've been taking care of for the last few days with a horrible fever! The hell made you think she was a robber!?" he practically shouted with a furious gaze.

Nora stepped back with a flinch before staring down with guilt. The bundle of rope in her hands was dropped as she rubbed her arm. Seeing that, Jaune let out a groan. Great, now he had a sad Nora. He really should watch his temperature. With a tired sigh, Jaune moved to pick May up in his arms and nudged his head to his friends to follow as he made his way to his room. He smiled thankfully at Blake who opened the door for him before settling the sick girl back in bed. Fixing the covers over her, he gently patted the girl's free rusty red hair and turned back to the questioning faces of his three friends.

Ren was easily the most confused. He had after all knocked the girl out. Now it turned out she was a guest? A girl like her? Did his friend even know that she was the one who caused all the damage in his living room?

"Let me get this straight." Ren said while pinching the bridge of his nose, "This girl right here is a guest of yours? A friend? A relative? Help me out here, Jaune. Because it isn't exactly normal for a guy to have some stranger living in his home."

"Especially some middle school girl." Nora noted helpfully.

"I'd like to add that I have nothing to do with any of this." Blake interjected stoically with a raised hand, wanting to be left out of whatever blame fell on them. If anything, she was an unwilling accomplice.

Another sigh escaped Jaune as he dropped to the ground and laid back against his bed. Today was exhausting to start with. Now this? Well, it wasn't like he was trying to keep this a secret to begin with. What harm could it do to let them in on the situation?

"Her name's May, and she's not really family. Or a friend. I guess she's more of a guest." Jaune said with a conflicted frown, "Truth is, I don't really know who she is other than her name. I found her about three days ago in the rain, passed out and surrounded by two... dirt bags with ill intentions." his eye grew dark at the memory, surprising his friends at the rare sight.

Jaune wasn't someone who could hate easily. He hardly ever showed any signs of meaning any ill will to even his bullies. To see such dark hostility in his eyes told them that he had come to see something that would cause even the mild tempered blond to lose his temper.

The look passed quickly and Jaune rubbed the back of his neck, "I was lucky to stumble onto them. After I dealt with them, I found that May was suffering from a high fever. Since the nearest doctor was a good hour away, I decided to take her back her to at least get her out of the rain. After getting her in some dry clothes and in bed, she eventually woke up and told me her name. And that's pretty much it. I've been taking care of her since then." he shrugged nonchalantly.

"That's it?" Blake frowned at the simple explanation. "Why haven't you taken her to a doctor, or better yet, her family? I'm sure she's recovered enough to be taken home. Her parents must be worried sick about her."

"That's the thing," Jaune scowled in conflict, looking even more stressed as he leaned his head back, getting a small glance of the redhead sleeping in his bed, "I don't think she has any parents. A kid like her would want nothing more than to go back to their parents instead of sleeping over some stranger's place. But she doesn't talk about them. She hardly even talks to me to begin with. It's become obvious to me that she doesn't have anywhere she's in a hurry to get back." he said sadly.

"As for taking her to a doctor? She's very adamant about not going. I even mentioned taking her to the police station in case her parents were searching for her, but she froze up and grew silent."

"She homeless." Blake deduced from the observation, getting a nod from Jaune. She could understand the hesitation to see a doctor or even the police if that was true. Sad to say, there were some orphans that would chose the life of the streets than the orphanage. Especially orphans her age. Either options would take her back into the system that caused her to brave the dangerous streets.

"She's a stranger. One who you know nothing about." Ren narrowed his eyes at the resting girl and moved his hand over to the tear on his waistcoat's shoulder. "For all you know, she could have been playing on your naivety and robbed you. Or worse. You shouldn't be so trusting."

Jaune glared at Ren, his tired blue eyes irritated at what he was hearing from his longtime friend.

"She's a little girl with no home. To the world, she was just another pile of trash in the alleyway. I'm sure Nora knows what that must have felt." he said bitterly.

A rare flash of anger passed Ren's eyes. He was more than ready to move on that fleeting emotion before he found Nora's hand falling on his shoulder. Her green eyes softly met his own magenta, calming him down.

"He's right." Nora said with a small smile, her eyes melancholic with thoughts of her childhood. She found herself looking back to May, feeling some small kinship with the ill girl, "Life for an orphan is difficult. Especially if she's past thirteen. Most people would rather adopt the small kids no older than ten. Once you're over, it's almost impossible to be picked up. Even though Vale is a big, prosperous city, it must have its own crappy system. Though I can't see whether the streets were any better than the wilds." she said brightly, albeit weakly.

Eyes falling back on Jaune, she gave the boy that she loved to refer to as leader a big old smile, her respect for the blond only growing further.

"I got to say, I'm happy that you of all people stumbled onto her. Not a lot of orphans are so lucky for a knight in white armor to come to their rescue."

The knight in white armor comment made Jaune groan and grumble.

"And suddenly I'm reminded of my high school years. God, I was loser back then too."

"What are you talking about? That was only a few months ago." Blake chuckled softly, the girl kneeling down to Jaune's eye level. She wore a fond smile at the troubled blond, reminded of the goof she had befriended in those halcyon days.

Jaune's eyes met with Blake's, causing a small smile to come to his lips. While he hadn't had the time to say it yet, he really did miss his old book loving friend. She and Weiss were hard to talk to these days with their busy schedules taking them away from their circle of friends. It was nice to see she hadn't changed at all, even if it had only been a month since he last talked with her. A month away from anyone of his friends felt like years.

Settling his own thoughts, Ren released a sigh before turning back to his scroll. The screen was lit up, signaling the call was still going on.

"Fall back. It was all just a misunderstanding."

Nodding and saying a few more words to the person on the other end, Ren shut off his scroll and turned his attention back to Jaune.

"So, what are you doing to do with her now?" Ren had to ask with a serious expression. He would love nothing more than to explain to Jaune how it was a bad idea to allow such a person in his home, but knew it would be a wasted effort. He would have to wait for some other time to deal with that problem, "If you're right, she has no home. And while she's unwell, she will eventually recover. So, what are you going to do then? Are you going to tell me that you're going to just continue to let her stay here when you can't even afford to support yourself?" he said.

Ren knew plenty of Jaune's current financial situation. Running an odd jobs shop wasn't exactly a profitable business. He had talked with Jaune plenty of times about his passed down business in the first two months since he had received it. Not to mention he had helped in sending over a few odd jobs Jaune's way from some of his contacts. The fact that Jaune was able to keep the roof over his place now was a commendation. But that was on his own.

Bringing someone else into his troubles, an orphan at that, would only put more stress on his pseudo brother's shoulders. And he would hate to see Jaune breakdown. Not again.

"Hmm, I'll guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." Jaune answered simply with a lazy dismissive wave of his hand.

Ren felt a nerve throb at the careless attitude. He was this close to smacking some sense into their so-called leader.

With a grin plastered on his face, Jaune simply rose to his feet and stretched his back. His eyes wandered over to the sleeping girl oblivious to their conversation. He couldn't help but comb her hair back, his hand pausing as he caught a good look at her usually hidden left eye.

Horribly scarred tissue greeted Jaune, aged and faded by what looked like a gouging blow. He was almost afraid to know if she could even open it. Or if anything would even look back.

"I know I'm not the best person to be taking care of her. Hell, it would be a better idea if you and Nora took her in instead. I'm sure you could feed her properly and figure something out. Even Blake would do. I'm sure your mother would be ecstatic to take care of a stubborn girl like May." Jaune said humorously with his back turned to his friends, "She's scared. She's alone. And most importantly, she doesn't know what to do. Yet, she hasn't run away. I'm sure she could have left the very night I brought her in, even taken what she'd liked from me without me being none the wiser. But she's still here. That tells me that I have something I can't just let go of." he said strongly.

"And that is?" Ren asked quizzically.

"I got her trust. Trust from a girl who's turned her back on the world. Trust me, I know she's not exactly a normal girl." Jaune laughed nervously as he rubbed his wrist. He could still feel the monstrous grip she had on her. And her mannerisms weren't normal either. Not to mention that gaze in her eye.

That gaze. Why did it click with him so easily?

"She's probably got her own problems to deal with. She doesn't want help from others. But she'll stay here and let me take care of her. I don't know why, but she trusts me to do that right. So, I'll continue to do just that. I'll take care of her, protect her, with all my power! At least until she's ready to open up to me and let me help her however I can. Because I would regret it more that I left her alone then I would taking her in!"

The passion, the energy, and the determination in Jaune's voice was enough to silence them all. Blake and Nora stared at Jaune as if he had grown another head. And Ren?

The stoic eastern boy shut his eyes, a small smile birthing on his face at his friend's words.

 _'So? I don't care about the whole Lie name thing. Don't be like Weiss and think it's all about your name. To me, you're just Ren. The lazy guy who I honestly think is a ninja by night. I'd actually like to be friends with you too. If you can stand to be friends with an annoying blond like me.'_

Simple Jaune. No need to question him. To him, it was just as simple as helping someone. Making friends out of strangers. Only his leader could do such thing so easily.

"Well if that's your plan, I can't say anything to dissuade you." Ren relented, "But you know, we're here too. If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask. I'm more than willing to help if you need a hand."

"Me too!" Nora practically shouted as she bounced on her feet, "I want to help the girl out too! I got some clothes from my younger days back at our place if you ever need them. I'm guessing she doesn't have anything else to wear than what she has on now." she said in sympathy.

Blake gave Jaune a smile as she offered her hand as well, "The same goes for me. I'm not sure what help I could be, but I'm here if you need me. I'm sure Yang and Ruby would be as well. And Weiss if you decided to be brave and let her in too." she said with a sly smirk.

Jaune automatically shook his head at the suggestion, "Snow Angel does not need to know. She'd just call me a dunce and go overboard. I'm lucky that Pyrrha's not here. She'd go mother hen all over this."

At the mention of the missing member of their friends, Nora leaned in with a wide grin and a wiggle of her brows.

"So? Did you answer her yet? Or are you still too chicken to say anything back?" she said knowingly.

Jaune's face turned bright red at what Nora was alluding to. His face began to sweat and he began to stutter and moved past them all to the door.

"H-How about we leave May alone? She's needs her rest and I need some help cleaning up the mess you made. What the hell were you even doing?"

"HEY!" Nora pouted as the three of them followed Jaune out of the room and shut the door behind them, "Don't change the subject! I need a damn answer! Pyrrha's still texting me day and night about how you're doing! It's bordering obsessive! Stop acting like a wimp and be a man! That girl needs a man!"

The sounds of commotion arose with the click of the door along with the sounds of struggle.

"Nora, put down the vase! That's the only thing that you haven't broken!"

"That was Ren's doing! You haven't seen what I'm capable of yet!"

"I'd like to add in that I am not involved in any of this... and there goes the vase. I'm not paying for that."

"I'm just going to move away and get to cooking while you all get to cleaning. Who wants pasta?"

The sounds of several more objects breaking and some struggling, caused May's eye to open slowly. She sat up with a groan, massaging the area Ren had struck before her eye fell down to stare at her lap emptily. The noise outside the room only continued to grow as a girlish shriek echoed inside the house along with a maniacal laugh.

In truth, she had been awake since Jaune had arrived. She'd only been pretending to still be out of it until they had left her. After her fight with the strange and dangerous eastern boy named Ren, she was planning on leaving the odd jobs shop. Her cover was blown. While they still had no idea to who or what she was, what little Ren saw was enough to ruin her facade as some innocent and down on her luck girl. Now would be the perfect time for her to leave out the window, damn her condition and wounded ankle.

So, why hadn't she?

Hesitantly, May's right hand wandered over her scarred eye. The reminder of a life in a war-torn land, filled with scoundrels and thieves. And the only place a tool like her could know.

Yet in this crappy home/shop run by a blond fresh out of high school with no idea to his future, she found herself feeling something odd. Something she never thought to feel in this world.

Safe. May felt safe and even... warm.

"Trust, huh? Could you really say the same for me?" May asked herself softly as she stared at her other hand while still ghosting over her scarred eye.

Could that naive blond trust her? To not dig a knife past his ribs and rupture his heart in an instant? Someone like her, you should never turn your back on, no matter what.

In her dwelling thoughts, May was unaware of an odd low whine in the room growing in volume. It wasn't until she felt the sharp pain in her left eye that she grew alarmed. The pain was intense, like a hot needle growing out of the damaged socket. She knew the reasons for the sound.

The fingers over her scarred left eye trembled. Just a few more seconds. That's all they needed and then-

Blood flew down May's fingers as they forcefully pried open her left eye and dug in. She wanted nothing more than to cry as her fingers glossed over the cool metal within until they found what they sought. With an agonized shout, May ripped out the whining origin and crushed it in one swift motion. The whining died.

"W-Why?" May's voice was hoarse, quivering as she held her bleeding eye. Her voice was full of self-confusion and despair. It had been so long since she felt such emotions. It must have been Ren's weird affects leaving behind an effect. It must have. Still though.

The three-inch cracked marble made of advanced tech in her bloody hand blinked from a tiny red light. A sob escaped her lips.

"Why am I still here? Why... why can't I leave?"

Someone outside the room must have caught the sound her little stunt and the door opened. May idly noticed amber eyes stare at her in shock before running off to tell the others. A blond blur ran in like the wind as she struggled to keep her eye open. The pain, it was too much. She felt caring, soft and firm hands on her face, moving her to look them in their concerned blue eyes.

Those blue eyes, they were too much.

This time, May did pass out in Jaune's arms, overloaded by the pain and her own doubts.

"MAY! What the hell happened!? What's wrong with your eye!?" Jaune shouted in concern as May shut her eye and grew quiet. Did she pass out? What the hell was with the blood dripping down her left eye!?

Running into the room with a pink apron still on, Ren was at Jaune's side a second later. He narrowed his eyes at the origin of the blood before glancing back at the door where Nora and Blake stood.

"Nora, get me my first aid kit. Blake, get some hot water and a towel. I'm going to have to improvise with what I have at the moment." he said calmly as he ordered the two, receiving nods in turn.

Jaune moved out of the way as Ren knelt by the bed. A small flashlight slipped out of his friend's sleeve, not surprising Jaune in the slightest. He watched Ren carefully inspect the wounded scarred eye on May's face, the sense of dread at seeing the girl like this never fading.

At times like this, Jaune was happy that Ren came from a long line of doctors and medicinal experts. Ren knew his way around a scalpel and graduated Beacon with all he needed to continue his education to become a great doctor. It was most likely why he was planning on returning back to his home country. Still, Jaune hated to be standing by like he was useless.

"Is there anything I can do, Ren?" Jaune asked urgently.

Ren didn't turn to respond, too focused on his task.

"If you want to help, play nurse. Do what I ask and don't question what I do. The first thing you can do is find me some clean nonlatex gloves. I can't do much without risking infecting her eye with any bacteria."

Jaune didn't say a word and ran off to find some gloves, leaving Ren with the dangerous girl. With no one around, he was free to do what he needed to do to make things go smoothly.

Laying his palm over May's head, Ren concentrated until he felt something react to his touch.

"It not anesthesia, but it'll do just fine." Ren said softly to May as her face seemed to relax. Next would be the tricky part, "It's a good thing I took that robotics class when I did." he said mirthfully.

Ren got a good peek at what laid underneath the scarred eye. Just what the hell had this girl gone through? Such thoughts could be dealt with later, his assistants finally returning. His magenta eyes were hyper focused on his task, leaving Jaune to hand him his gloves before he began to give out orders and instructions that the odd jobs blond followed diligently.

Their little lunch reunion would have to wait. It was time for some improvised surgery.

* * *

Smooth, creamy legs dangled in the air over a tall abandoned storage building within Vale's inner city. Grape purple hair, silky and curled at the tips fell over to her bare waist and mirthful dark purple eyes. Those orbs were focused on the scroll in her delicate hand. The woman wore a peach orange flashy silk skirt decorated with golden trinkets that reached her top knee, high heel sandals, a red revealing crop top that fought to hold her impressive bust and showed off her slim stomach, and a gold shawl over her shoulders. On her waist, two odd edged hoops were tied securely. Her face was smooth and free of any blemishes other than a small beauty mark on her left cheek, appearing as if she would be better suited posing for a magazine cover than staring out at the lower city.

"Hmm, it seems we've lost May 12th's signal. How vexing." the mysterious woman pouted as she shut her scroll. Raising her arms up, she stretched with a drawn-out yawn. The gesture caused her breasts to bounce, no doubt catching the attention of the company behind her. She grinned huskily at the gathered men staring at her as she arched her spine back enough for her see their wide eyes and leering gazes of lust. All but one that is.

Standing in front of the punk themed faunus with symbols of a chipped fan, Drake sneered at the voluptuous woman.

"Ya done, skank? If you wanted to be lusted after, then you should have gone to a seedy bar for a fun night with a bunch of lowlifes. I don't fuck with no thought." Drake growled in annoyance, his hands stuffed in his pockets, hunched over as he addressed the sex symbol of a woman.

Said woman pouted cutely at the green spiky haired lizard faunus before rising to her feet.

"Boo, I wanted to at least see you rise in attention! Guess I'll just have to work harder to get you harder." she purred as she sashayed over to the gang of faunus. She got the obvious reactions from the thugs, starring at her with hungry eyes and gulps of anxious breaths. But still, the leader of the small gang, Drake, didn't react to her seductions.

The sound of chains breaking loose caught the alluring woman's attention as she stepped closer to Drake. She stopped before she could take another step, her eyes catching several links of silver chains rushing out from Drake's leather sleeves and coiling around her like snakes. The well forged chains tightened, preventing her from moving another inch. The chains moved with a jerk, pulling her towards the glaring lizard faunus. Her cheeks puffed in annoyance in the face of the intimidating man.

"My, if you wanted to get kinky, you should have just said so. Ahh~! This reminds me of a rather naughty scene in Ninja's of Love! Hey, can you make them tighter?" she said eagerly like a child, her eyes sparkling at the thought.

Drake looked at the woman in disgust, spitting to the side as he lifted his bandanna over his lower face, "You give women a bad name, bitch. But if you want me to make them tighter, who am I to say no?" he said cruelly with a toothy grin, said chains reacting to his will.

The purple haired woman moaned, blushing to the shock of Drake's men. That was a freak if they ever saw one.

With a giggle, the woman leaned in close to Drake's face. Her gaze was sharp, full of mischief and hunger.

"Silly boy, if all you can do is bark and bite, then you're not ready for a woman like me. Not until you're ready to maul your prey and rip their limps off with a savage howl of blood lust."

The chains snapped, breaking apart as Drake watched the woman swing up the strange hoops that were responsible for freeing her. He noted the paper thin and sharp edge on the gold and silver hoops, recognizing them as chakrams. To break free took more than just a sharp edge, it took some serious strength. Just what the hell was this woman?

Eyeing the still blushing woman giggling at the bruises over her revealing skin warily, Drake fixed his sleeves while subtly readying another link of chains.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Drake stressed with a mad growl in his voice. He didn't like working with humans, let alone speaking with them. But the woman had found them while they were in hiding. She knew of their whereabouts and was skilled. Even a thug like him knew when to listen.

Grinning widely, the woman introduced herself with a low bow, revealing the bountiful skin of her breasts to the already riled up boys, her voice coming off with a soft, alluring tone.

"The name's July Un, and I've come bearing an offer by my employer. One of partnership as we search for a lost lamb. Won't you hear this poor woman out? I'll make it worth your wild, virgin's promise."

Drake scoffed with distaste, "I'd sooner believe that humans aren't at fault for my specie's suffering."

July giggled with a wink and cocked her hip to the side. She gave the gang leader a thumb's up, "Sharp! And not so trusting. You'll do nicely." she breathed hotly with a hand raking her slender neck. Spinning to face her back to the thug, she walked back to where she sat and leaned down provocatively before going back with a case in hand. She smirked as she faced the metal briefcase towards Drake and popped it open.

It was like the light of god had revealed itself to Drake and his men. Cleanly stacked rows of Lien greeted them, fresh as the dew of the morning. It was enough to make Drake nearly tear up.

"What is this? There's got to be 20,000L in here!" Drake breathed.

July pouted cutely at the number as she waggled a finger negatively, "As if! It's more like 60,000L." she said as if it was an everyday number.

"What do you want?" Drake got straight to the point, his expression serious. It didn't matter if she was human, Lien was Lien! The things he could do with just ten thousand. He could prosper the Chipped Fang into a legitimate organization like the White Fang. Or better yet, finally mingle the two together. He could finally get Sienna Khan's blessing!

Annoyance painted itself on July's face.

"Oh, so money catches your attention, does it? Tell me, do you lean the other way?" July asked bluntly, receiving an irritated scowl from the spiky green haired faunus.

"Fuck off. I got refined taste and shit. Now, what do you want?"

Grumbling under her breath, July got to business.

"My boss wants help in tracking down a lost member of our organization. No questions asked. We will provide you with whatever you might need in tracking her down and retrieving her. Dead, or alive. Your pick." she shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. Shutting the case full of Lien, July stepped back and tossed Drake the currency along with a black themed scroll with a gold crystal on the back.

"We'll communicate with you via this scroll. It's on a network hidden away from the CCT that still utilizes its main network. In it, you'll find the waning signal of our lost little lamb. While the signal is weak, it's still there. And if you need anything, just let us know."

Pocketing the scroll, Drake sent July a questioning look.

"Consider it done. But why us?" he asked suspiciously.

"Simple. Your gang knows the ins and outs of this city better than we do at the moment. And we want to get this over with as soon as possible. Just think of this as supporting the faunus!" July said brightly as she leaned forward with a jiggle of her breasts.

 _'Right. As if I can believe that.'_ Drake thought warily.

Done with her piece, July wandered over to the edge of the roof before her purple eyes glanced back at the Chipped Fang members.

That's when Drake felt it. The chilling intent behind those seductive and playful eyes. It was something that brought a cold sweat down his face as July smiled simply.

"Oh, and if you think you can just take the Lien and walk away, DON'T. I'd hate to show you my ugly side. It's rather nasty. And not the kind I'm so fond of."

With nothing more to say, July gave the thugs one last wink before hoping off. Vanishing to who knows where.

Now that July was gone, Drake finally sucked in a breath he had been holding. He turned back to his men, finding them on their knees and gasping for much needed air. It looked like they had been scared shitless.

Drake found his own right hand lightly shaking, his skin crawling with goosebumps. He clicked his tongue, lugging the briefcase of Lien over his shoulder as he moved along with his men back down to the safety of their hideout.

"Just what the fuck have I gotten myself into now?"

Well, they got paid in advance. Might as well get to gearing up. It was about time he got the new upgrade on his weapons. Man, was he going to go crazy on the design.

Not like he would need them anyways. It was a simple retrieval and they got an idea of the city along with a tracking signal. Besides, who would get in the way of the Chipped Fang? Only an idiot would stand in their way.

* * *

 _ **With what power you have, do what you believe is right. Even if it leads you down to a world you have no right to step into. Just beware the fangs ever coming closer.**_

 _ **Don't think. Act. It's what your body remembers after all.**_

 _ **Your Soul is calling.**_

 **I'll tell you, I struggled to get this chapter going at first. For like an entire week I just couldn't seem to get anymore words going past the beginning. Only then do I truly figure that I can only write when I'm away from home. Too many distractions and all that jazz.**

 **From the sounds of it, it looks like shits about to hit the fan with our buddy Jaune. We're about to have some real action going on next chapter, so for you action junkies out there, like yours truly, I got something to treat ya. We'll also be diving into some history of this new strange Remnant as well to answer many important questions on the lore of this new world. And I'll also be hoping to finish a new Odd Job for the chapter detailing a little of Jaune's past life while attending Beacon. So please wait patiently for the next chapter.**

 **Oh, and as I discussed before with a few people on Discord too, I'm still looking for an artist to help me with illustrations of my OC's. If ya got anyone in mind, let me know. I'd do them myself, but I'm still working on getting back into drawing. Going to take a lot more lessons before I can get back what skill I once had.**

 **Remember to Read and Review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	4. Resolve

**Hot summer damn! Man, it's been a long time since I've updated this little fic, huh?**

 **NeoShadows here, and apologies to all those who have been waiting patiently for the newest chapter of A Jaune of All Trades. Like I've said before, my updating schedule was going to be hectic. But now all that trouble is done with for now. My work schedule has been fixed and I got more down time to write before work and after. So, hopefully I can get my groove back now. Oh, yeah, I lost my groove for a while too. That, and i got addicted to playing RPG Maker. It was on sale, I was weak! Been fun working on an original story again though while also making a game out of it. We'll see how that eventually turns out.**

 **Moving on, chapters will be coming out a bit faster now as I get my writing groove back. I'm also planning on getting a new laptop since my old gal is a bit busted and in new of an upgrade for my more powerhouse projects I got in mind. Papa needs horsepower. But I'll be working my damnest to churn out more chapters to AJOAT's.**

 **So, let's get to Reviews before we head on. Not too many this time, sadly. But, eh, what can you do?**

 **WyattMoore: Hush you, yea of little knowledge! Wait and see.**

 **FreddyLine1: I'm doing my best to get them going out! Trust me, I know the feeling of waiting for more of a story to come out. I can only ask that you be patient. I got some plot coming out.**

 **Ultimate Pervy Sage: Well, not just females. And cyborgs? I have no idea what you might be talking about. You'll just have to see. It's more than meets the eye. And I'm happy to have gotten Jaune's character done in this AU. I was doing my best not to make him an OC with Jaune's name. This is still after all RWBY.**

 **Lorddrednight: Oh, things have only just begun for our favorite knight. Trust me, this is only scratching the surface of whats to come down the road. This next chapter should be informative on the world too. Oh, Ren. He's definitely been a favorite of mine and will be involved in the story as things go on from here.**

 **AZalmega: Yes, my inhuman friend. This is indeed what we humans call addiction. Don't fight it. Let it take over.**

 **Kohoi: Someone's been watching One Piece, I see. Ah, that brings me back right to Alabasta. Good times, good times.**

 **ShadowIke: Standard? What do you ever mean? And I'm happy that the one-shot got you invested into the story. Hope you stick around for both AJOAT and Multiplayer!**

 **Alright, that's all we got for now. Let's get to reading already!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: _I do not own the rights to RWBY. All rights are reserved to RoosterTeeth. I am in development of my own game though with RPG Maker. You have no idea how hard I'm trying from not going overboard and adding more. . .adult material. Imagine if I could draw. Bah, only another pervert would agree to work alongside me on my projects._**

 ** _. . .Hmm. Makes me wonder where that leaves my Beta._**

* * *

 **Chapter 4:** **Resolve.**

A few hours later and Jaune could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He slumped against his gouged sofa cushions. He paid the fluff from the cushions flying up from sitting no mind, making a note to finish cleaning tomorrow. He was too tired to be worried about the state of his living room right now. He was just happy that May was better.

Better was of course was a relative term. Especially with that eye of hers. Helping Ren as a nurse, Jaune had seen what laid underneath the supposed ruined eye hidden by her beanie. He felt his stomach churn at the memory of blood and wires.

A prosthetic eye. A highly advanced one at that. Ren had commented as he worked with pliers on fixing the damage. From the looks of it she had lost her left eye years ago and had it replaced with an off-brand cybernetic eye. Usually you could only find such things in Atlas, seeing as they led the way in technological advancements. The one Ren worked on however wasn't like any other he had seen from his training in the subject matter. Utilizing his skills in medicine and robotics, Ren had fixed what he could on May's cybernetic eye. That was one problem solved.

But it only opened a can of unsettling worms.

Why would someone so young have something like that? May couldn't have been older than fourteen, not even old enough to go out in the streets in his opinion. Yet she had a military grade robotic eye. Jaune wasn't as naïve as many people believed him to be. He knew his fair share of military grade weapons and technology from his own experiences on the matter. Coupled with their own observations that May had no family, her stoic and almost soulless eye, and lack of any home, created only more worry and headache. Just who was May?

Jaune breathed out a dragging sigh, feeling today's events hit him full force now that he had a second to himself. His muscles were sore, he smelled, and his head was aching. His thoughts kept turning back to their last-minute surgery on little May's eye, gritting his teeth as he recalled the involuntary grimaces rising from May's face as Ren worked on her. And the blood on her face and hand.

 _'I guess I'll be washing clothes again. Hopefully I have enough detergent left for another load.'_ Jaune thought with a humorless chuckle and a mental note to wash the sheets. No need to have the poor girl sleep in bloody sheets.

"This seat taken?"

Lifting his head in surprise, Jaune turned to find Ren standing by with a small smile. The eastern boy was cleaning his hands off with a washcloth, no doubt the remnants from the surgery. Getting a nod of go ahead from Jaune, Ren sat down next to the boy they had often referred to as leader in their golden days. Which had just so had happened to have been about four months ago. Seeing the look on conflict in his friend's eyes, Ren decided now was as good a time as any to get to the matter that was May.

Ren had his worries and doubts about Jaune taking in the deadly girl. Someone like her, with eyes like hers, was not the kind of person you would ever let into your home. And after working on her robotic eye, his doubts had been cemented. A homeless girl would never have something that advanced. Carefully, he discretely slid a certain chip he found in May's eye into one of the hidden pockets in his sleeve as he laid his hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"You know, if it really is too much for you to handle, I can help you." Ren said in comfort. Jaune looked up to Ren again, confused as he continued, "She's not your responsibility. You don't know anything about her, for all you know she could be a criminal. You'll only drag yourself into more trouble and you have enough on your plate as it is."

"So, what?" Jaune shook his head with incredulous eyes aimed at his longtime friend. His blue gaze narrowed, "You want me to just abandon her? She's just a child!"

Ren narrowed his own eyes before gesturing his hand to the mess around the blond's living room. "She's dangerous. You think Nora did all this? When we arrived, I noticed someone else was in the upper floor and I went to check things out. The moment I set foot to the living room floor, she attacked me. A girl as sick as her and with a sprained leg should not have been capable of moving as quick as she did. If I were anyone else, I'm positive she would have seriously injured me."

Or worse.

Jaune stared at the many forks, knives, and gashes created by the supposed fight between May and Ren. Ren was not one to lie, he was as honest as they came despite the notoriety his family name had gained. He would never lie to him. Still...

"I can't just abandon her, Ren. That would make me a bigger failure than I already am." Jaune answered tiredly, his face aging as his eyes looked to something in the distance. "What would you even do? Would you take her to the police and just have her sent to some orphanage to live the rest of her days waiting to see if someone would take a chance on her? They would just label her a problem child. Could you willingly give her up to an uncertain future?" Jaune asked softly.

For a second, Ren hesitated, his magenta eyes swiftly glancing back to the kitchen. His ears could make out the sound of pots and pans, chopping, and a few laughs falling out of the quaint kitchen, courtesy of a certain ginger haired Valkyrie. Seeing as Jaune and Ren were busy with May's condition, Nora had dragged along Blake to help prepare some dinner now that the hours had passed them by. From the sounds of it, it was going to be a big feast. Nora always got carried away when cooking. Funny how she could make some of the best tasting meals, yet still craved his signature pancakes every day.

The girl May was just like Nora. An orphan that others had abandoned. A problem child with certain quirks that made her... unstable. A piece of trash that drifted in the wind to the eyes of others. That was until said girl had drifted along the Lie's family way. Unlike others, it was his mother that had taken notice of the poor girl and brought her in despite the protests of his other family members.

The girl that was abandoned by others had eventually become his sister. And strangely enough as time passed and they grew older, his girlfriend. All because they had taken her into their home. Because they had taken a chance.

"Are you saying you're willing to take her into your home? To take care of her as your own family? Even if it would mean bringing in more trouble to your already uncertain future?" Ren spoke bluntly, his eyes hardened as he stared at his best friend for an acceptable answer.

Jaune chewed on his inner cheek, thinking of what he needed to say next to his cautious friend. Would he be willing to take in May? Officially? For now, he had just thought of taking care of her until she was feeling better. That was it, the line of thought pretty much cut itself off there. He had been hoping to find her parents or relatives in the time she was recovering, but after making his doubts known to them all, he wasn't so sure what to do. Could he really bring a kid into his mess of a life?

 _'You know, if you don't want to leave, you don't have to. You're more than free to stay as long as you need. So, don't push yourself.'_

Jaune shut his eyes and dragged his palm down his face, the unbid thoughts flashing through his mind. He had already told her she could stay as long as she wanted. He had said that without really thinking. A small chuckle escaped his throat despite himself. It seemed he already had his answer. Hell, he had made it known earlier when he had been speaking to them all about May.

Ren's brow furrowed as Jaune looked back at him, his eyes tired, exhausted, troubled, yet retaining the same determination he was known for. A dedication. A promise.

"I told you before, with whatever power I have, I'll protect her. Even if that comes down to taking her in. I'm sure I'll work something out. For now, I'll just continue to take care of her until she's feeling better. Then I'll ask her myself whether she wants to stay with me. Everything else after that, we'll just have to wait and see." Jaune grinned brightly.

Bad luck may have fallen onto Jaune more than he'd like, but he had his own luck to help him out. He'd make it work. Somehow. That was an Arc's promise.

Ren wasn't sure what to make out of the flimsy answer. Wait and see? It was not what he was hoping to hear. But it was Jaune's answer. And that only was just enough for him to nod simply with a sigh and a smile on his lips

Whatever troubles may fall onto his simple-minded friend, Ren would at least be there to watch his back.

Reaching into the inner pockets of his waistcoat, Ren pulled out a checkbook before swiftly writing down and signing off the slip. Satisfied, he handed it to Jaune, the blond staring at the slip in confusion.

"For the damages I've made to your living room. It should more than cover the repairs and even give you a little extra for the month. And before you protest," Ren glared flatly at Jaune as the odd job's blond opened his mouth to reject him, "You will take it. Otherwise, I'll bring Nora into this and strip you of the freedom of decision."

Jaune sputtered with frustration, "Like I had a choice either way!"

Seeing Ren refuse to let up and tear up the check, Jaune growled and snatched the slip. He didn't like others helping him, but he couldn't refuse. Besides, he'd hate to leave the place so trashed when Qrow would one day return. It wasn't like Jaune was swimming in Lien to pay for the repairs anyways. Taking a look at the amount, Jaune felt his brow quiver in annoyance at the amount. Sometimes having good friends could be a pain in the ass.

 _'15,000L?! It can't possibly cost that much to repair a shoddy living room!'_

If it wasn't for the threat of Nora, Jaune would have turned down Ren's check. He didn't question how his friend could so casually offer him such a large sum of Lien, the Lie family was a family of famous doctors and medicinal experts that have been around for generations. To say that Ren was better off than himself would be an understatement. He never had to struggle to pay off bills or the like. In their circle of friends, Jaune was the only one ever struggling to make ends meet. Lucky bastards.

Then again, if Jaune wasn't so stubborn to return home, he wouldn't be having any trouble either.

Pocketing the check, Jaune relented and sat back against his sofa. At least he could get a bigger couch. Besides, he was too tired to put up much of a fight right now.

"Just be careful, Jaune. And remember that we're here too." Ren sighed as he followed along with his friend and sat back.

Jaune grunted, his eyes trailing up to the ceiling. His brow quirked as he noticed a few more cutlery dug deep into the ceiling. May did that? It was hard to believe the little girl was capable of such things. Now he was even more curious about her. Hopefully she would tell him more about herself when she was better.

For the moment though, both boys just sat back and relaxed, listening to the sounds drifting from the kitchen as the two girls worked on dinner. Thinking too much on the matters at hand would give them gray hairs and they were still young. Better to enjoy the small quiet moments while they lasted.

 **Ding!**

"...Can we ignore that?" Jaune grumbled, his head rolling back against the sofa.

 **Ding!**

Ren sighed as the dinging continued, growing more furious as they ignored the doorbell.

 **DING!DING!DING!DING!DING!**

"It's your house, you answer."

 **DINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDING!**

Jaune growled as he got off the sofa, practically ripping himself from the torn cushions as he scratched his head. Both Blake and Nora poked their heads out from the kitchen, confused to find the normally lax blond so frustrated and ready to tear his hair out.

"What's going on, Jaune?" Blake asked, her feline ears twitching with every ding.

"I swear, if it's more solicitors, I might just lose it!" Jaune fought the shout from his lips as he stomped down the stairs to the door of his quaint shop. He was too tired and smelly to be polite. If it was those followers of NebNeb again, he was going to shove those alluring packets down their throats! He was ready to swing the door open once he got down, only to pause as he realized the door was missing. At least they had the courtesy to ring.

But whatever threat he was ready to make to the annoying ringers died on his throat as he reached the bottom and found two sets of sheepish eyes on the blond. Silver and lilac stared back as Jaune sputtered.

"Ruby, Yang? What are you guys doing here?"

Outside the new doorway stood both Ruby and Yang, both of which grinned at their favorite blond. Ruby was still wearing her high school uniform and Yang wore her work out gear which consisted of an orange top, tight black shorts, orange arm bands and sneakers, and a dark purple scrunchie that held back her long golden hair. From the looks of it, the sun was beginning to set behind them, giving them an orange glow from the rays.

"So, any reason why the door to Qrow's shop is busted down?" Yang asked bluntly with a smirk as Jaune slumped.

"It's my shop... even if the deed is in his name still." Jaune mumbled as he walked closer to the sisterly duo with confusion. "What are you doing here anyways? You don't normally visit my place." he frowned.

Yang shrugged as she patted Ruby's head, her younger sister nothing but smiles as she teetered on her feet.

"Well, I was coming home after working out at the gym when I found my sweet little sister working herself to death on her history paper. I decided to lend a hand seeing as I had Oobleck not too long ago when I got a message from our resident booper that she was having a dinner party at your place." Yang grinned as Jaune sighed at the mention of Nora before continuing, "So, I decided to come over and help out with Ruby's paper seeing as we all had Oobleck. A little study party, just like back in the day!"

"That was about four months ago, Yang." Jaune said flatly before glancing back to the stairs, "And since when did I say we were having a party? The hell's Nora up to?!" He knew it was odd of her to be cooking so much despite her large appetite. Had that been her plan all along?

"Semantics! The point is we can all gather around for a good home cooked meal, catch up, and help our little rose with her schoolwork!" Yang said eagerly, stepping past Jaune without another word.

Jaune had nothing to say to that seeing as it was already happening. Turning back to Ruby, he was unaware of the annoyed icy blue eyes staring at him as he kept his focus on the growing rose themed girl.

"I guess I can't say no to that. Not when you're all already here. So, you need help with your homework?" Jaune asked curiously as Ruby nodded excitedly.

"Yeah, I got stuck on some of the reasons for The Great War and Post War events. And the paper's due tomorrow. You don't mind, do you?" Ruby asked shyly, her big silver eyes staring straight into Jaune's soul.

There was no saying no to that either. Jaune could only nod at those adorable eyes that have kept him under their thumb since she moved into the Branwen home those two year ago. Not that he could just shut the door on her anyways. The door was gone.

Ruby squealed and moved to glomp her favorite blond teddy bear, only for a snow-white hand to catch her by the back of her collar. It was only then as Jaune watched Ruby choke and mutter 'Not like this, not like this!' did he finally notice the hidden companion that followed Yang and Ruby. His breath left him, his heart hammered against his chest, and his palms began to sweat. It was just like he was back in high school.

A girl with pale skin, cold blue eyes, and snow white haired done up in a ponytail, stood behind the little red head with a look of annoyance. The girl was dressed in a tan cotton vest over a white shirt, a black and red checkered skirt, black knee socks, and a simple silver pendant. The girl's very presence carried an air of sophistication and finesse even in the simple school wear.

The girl's name was Weiss Schnee, heir to the Schnee Dust Corporation, and Jaune's old high school crush. And she was standing outside his doorless shop.

Weiss sighed as she reeled in her best friend before her icy gaze went to Jaune, her face indifferent as Ruby dramatically clawed at her collar.

"Please, refrain yourself from making yourself out as a bigger dork, Ruby. Just because you're at a friend's house, doesn't excuse any lack of manners." Weiss spoke with an exasperated tone. She quirked a brow at Jaune's frozen state. It looked like he saw a ghost or something, "You know, you still haven't officially invited us into your home, Jaune. It would be impolite to enter without your permission." she said with a small smirk on her beautiful lips.

Mentally smacking himself, Jaune nodded quickly as he moved aside.

"O-Of course! Ladies, you may enter." Jaune grinned playfully as he waved his arm in.

Weiss rolled her eyes, watching as Ruby dashed into the run down little shop and she followed along in more dignified manner. Her eyes roamed around the odd jobs establishment. This was the first time she had ever visited Jaune's new 'business' since she had learned of it. She couldn't help but glance at everything with scrutiny in her wandering, Ruby opting to skip alongside Jaune.

Stopping at the counter, Weiss ran her finger against the wooden counter-top. Her nose twitched with a frown on her face as she found a lite sheen of dust. Someone wasn't properly caring for their only means of business.

"So, this is your business?" Weiss drawled unconvincingly as she spun around to meet Jaune's sheepish expression.

 _'Crap! If I had known Snow Angel would be stopping by, I would have cleaned this place from top to bottom!'_ Jaune thought in panic as he found himself being stared down by his old crush's icy gaze. If she thought the little dust around his storefront was bad, he'd hate to know what she thought of his torn living room.

In Jaune's four years of Beacon, he had made quite a circle of friends. It still surprised him. He was just a normal guy who may or may not have made it into Beacon through questionable means and yet he had made friends with some very interesting people. From the daughter of a civil rights leader, a son of a famous line of doctors, a girl who excelled in just about everything and was a model in Anima, and a daughter to one of Remnant's most profitable Dust distributors. The fact that Weiss even spoke to him and considered him a friend was still mind boggling. Especially after all the failed attempts at wooing her back in school. Yet here she was, inside his home/business, addressing him as casually as a girl like her could.

He couldn't help but gulp under the frigid gaze of the white themed beauty. Even after he had told himself he was over her last year and ready to move on and be content as her good friend, he still found himself acting like the nervous blond dork he was well known for.

 _'Damn it, Jaune! You're a man now! So, keep it together and act cool for once! She's no different than Ruby or Yang. The only difference being that you use to fantasize about her.'_

Stuffing down all those old emotions to his crush back where they were buried, Jaune responded back with a small grin.

"Well, technically speaking it's still owned by Qrow, Ruby's Uncle, but yeah, it's my store."

Ruby hummed as she skipped around the store, eyeing all the things on display.

"I keep forgetting this place belongs to Uncle Qrow. In the two years I've lived in Vale, I've never been invited over to his place. He always said that it was no place for children." Ruby pouted cutely with narrowed silver eyes. For as far as she could see there was nothing in this shack of a store that was unsuitable for a girl like her to visit. Knowing her Uncle, he was probably just making up excuses, so she wouldn't see the dozens of empty bottles of liquor he probably had laying around when he ran the place.

Jaune shrugged as he decided to take the moment to try and fix the door back to its rightful place. Keyword, try.

"I don't know why he wouldn't invite you over. Crow's Nest isn't exactly in a bad neighborhood. The area around here basically serves as a middle ground between the inner city of Vale and the more well off outer city. If anything, you just have to be careful about walking out at night alone." Jaune mumbled as he fought to keep the wooden door up. Which was hard when then hinges were broken off by some monstrous blow. Having had enough of the damn thing falling back, Jaune walked over to the store counter and opened up the drawer with duct tape.

"Other than the rare shady guy on the streets and some not so kind drivers passing by, this place ain't so bad."

Weiss nodded along, eyeing the door that was now held in place by duct tape as Jaune stood by admiring his work. How were they supposed to get out?

"Hopefully with Mayor Port now in office, no one will have to worry about the safety of the city. He's already going through with his plans on fixing up the inner city, something his predecessor had failed to do. I know my father had donated a decent check to help in his efforts." Weiss off offhandedly mentioned.

"Didn't your dad sign a check of 700,000L?" Ruby muttered flatly, receiving a quirked brow from the heiress.

"I don't see your point."

"I know you don't."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that our old school teacher is a mayor." Jaune chuckled before a loud shout caught all their attention.

"HOLY CRAP! THE HELL HAPPENED UP HERE!? YOU GET IN A FIGHT WITH THE KITCHEN OR SOMETHING!?"

Jaune sighed, knowing perfectly well to what Yang was referring to. He soon found Ruby and Weiss's curious gazes on him as he began to lead the way upstairs.

"I'll explain once we're there. Trust me, it's not as bad as it looks."

* * *

"It's as bad as it looks."

Jaune fumbled with the tomato bathed noodles as Weiss stared at him flatly. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly as they all sat down in said living room, eating the dinner made by both Nora and Blake. Seeing as his coffee table had been destroyed, he had wandered over to one of the rooms above that served as storage for Qrow's old things for something that could serve as a dining table. Lucky for them he found an odd table that could most of them. It seemed to produce a heat and from what Ren said it was a customary household item in Anima. Jaune didn't understand much about it, only that he was happy that it could hold some of their plates while the others sat on the torn sofa.

On said couch was Jaune, Ruby, and Yang, while Ren, Nora, Weiss, and Blake took the kotatus. At the mention of said living room, Yang whistled at the destruction while twirling her seafood topped pasta with her fork.

"Seriously, that little girl did all this? Here I thought I was a wild one as a kid." Yang said, impressed at the damage done by one girl no older than fifteen.

When Ruby and Weiss had seen the state of the living room, Jaune was forced to explain what had happened. In doing so, he also revealed his new resident, May. There was no reason for him to lie to them about her or what had happened. He had made enough lies as it was, he didn't feel like adding another to the list. So, he had explained to them the situation as they sat down to eat. And again, came the headache once he finished and gained odd looks from his friends.

At least he didn't tell them about his run in with Raven.

Setting down her tall glass of water, Weiss look to Jaune unconvinced. Both at the mention of said girl and his plans of taking care of her.

"Jaune, you can hardly take care of yourself. And you plan on letting some stranger who can do this," Weiss gestured to the room and the many gashes littering the walls as she continued, "Into your home? While I know I can't make you change your mind with that stubborn brain of yours, I want you to at least think about this clearly. The smart thing to do is hand her over to the authorities and let them handle this. She's not your responsibility."

"That's what I tried telling him." Ren mumbled as he ate his meal next to Nora and leaned his head on his hand, "But you already know Jaune. It doesn't matter who it is, he'll do whatever he can to help those in need. When I think about it, this job really does suit you." Ren remarked as Jaune smiled sheepishly.

"And that's another thing." Weiss sighed as she massaged her aching temple. When she arrived home, the first thing she was having Klien do was get her some aspirin, "You can't possibly believe that you can sustain yourself on odd jobs alone, can you? This is the first time I've visited your business and I can already tell you're in the red financially."

"Ruby told you, didn't she?" Jaune blurted flatly as he aimed a small glare at the nervous dark red-haired girl.

"Not the point. The point is that you have to think about your future more clearly. I'm sure if you wanted to, you could leave this business and find a more financially stable job. In fact," Weiss smiled to herself smugly, gaining the attention of all those around, "I know that the CCT is in need of a receptionist! It pays very well and you wouldn't need much skill other than a week-long training course and a background check. With my recommendation, you wouldn't even need an interview, seeing as my family controls the network and technology that runs the towers in Remnant. Just say the word and I can get you the job by Monday."

Jaune was momentarily stunned by the kind and generous offer from the girl known as the Ice Queen. Back when he had first met her, he would have never imagined Weiss ever offering him such an opportunity. Which was why he frowned with an apologetic smile.

"That sounds amazing, Weiss. And you're an awesome friend for offering, but I can't just abandon this place. Even if sometimes I have my own doubts about running the place."

Weiss was stunned that Jaune would turn down the job opportunity. She wasn't kidding when she said she could get him the job. She would just chalk it up as one of the few favors she was granted by her father. She wasn't above using her name to help her friends out, especially someone who she had misjudged and cared little for her status as heiress.

"Why not? Don't tell me you feel indebted to keep this place running?" Weiss grumbled sourly.

Jaune shrugged as he stuffed his face with more Scoglio spaghetti, mumbling an answered.

"Pretty much? Qrow took me in at my lowest point and offered me the opportunity to take care of his store. I can't just let it fall to ruin after all that he's done for me."

Now Blake was curious, her ears wiggling at the mention of how Jaune gained possession of a store of all things. He never talked about that day, his lowest point, or how Ruby's Uncle who he had never met, had put enough trust into some down on his luck teenager to take over his business and home of all things. True to her animal nature, she couldn't help but be curious.

"Wait, I thought you owned the store? So, you're only taking care of it for Qrow while he's gone?" Blake asked. Jaune gestured his hand in a so-so motion.

"I run the Qrow's Nest, pay for its bills, take care of the contracts he made, handle all clientele, and am basically in charge of any changes to the place. But it's still all under his name. He can pretty much come in any day now and take the place back if he wanted." Jaune explained lazily as he sipped a can of Everybody Loves Grape Soda.

"So, you're like a general manager?"

Jaune scowled, "I wouldn't say that. Qrow handed me the place to run as I see fit. I'm pretty sure if he wanted to, he would have put the place under my name. But he said that the landlord would never trust some kid to run a business in one of her buildings." he grumbled sourly.

"So, is Uncle Qrow going to come back one day and take back his store?" Yang decided to ask with a worried frown.

"He's more than free to. But as you probably know already, Qrow's flown the nest on business. What business, I don't know." Jaune shrugged as he set his empty plate down and leaned back against the torn fabric of his sofa, "He said he had no idea how long he would be gone. He said at least two years with visits every now and then to check on me. I never really understood what he does to be honest. Even I doubt he kept this place running solely on odd end jobs." he said with a conflicted expression.

"Yeah, Uncle Qrow's always been mysterious. Sometimes I think he's a secret agent or something." Ruby smiled before coughing into her fist to gain everyone's attention, "Now, I'm all for figuring out why Uncle Qrow left his shop to Jaune and all, but I have assignment that makes up a good forty percent of my grade for the first semester due tomorrow! And all of you had taken Professor Oobleck's class before, so help a girl out. Please?" she begged with a quivering lip.

Her plea received a wave of groans from Jaune, Yang, and Nora. They of all people didn't want to go back to the days of study sessions now that they were free from school. But those big, silver eyes! Even someone as cold as Weiss couldn't turn away from those adorable marbles. To do such would be like kicking a puppy right in the face.

Yang groaned as she fell back alongside Jaune, "I know I set up this study session, but do we really have to? I was just looking for an excuse to hang out with the gang. Please don't make me relive those days. I'm having flashbacks." she whispered dramatically in horror.

"You know I wasn't the brightest in school, right?" Jaune added with a grumble, earning a nod from Weiss and Blake, the two who had been his biggest help in passing his final years, "Hell, I only made it to graduation thanks to those credits I earned in the Vytal Festival. If it wasn't for my luck and tactics during the event, I'd have flunked and fallen into depression."

Blake quirked a brow at Jaune's dejected form, _'Didn't he already fall into depression when he graduated?'_ she thought flatly.

"I just finished writing a several thousand-word essay on Mistral's history and culture. Why must I help you with your work? Don't I deserve a break?" Weiss mumbled in futility. At the end of the day, she knew she would crack under her best friend's gaze. All she could do was delay the inevitable.

At that, Ruby grinned at Weiss, "Like you said, you just finished an essay on Mistral's history! That's already some of the work finished! I just need you to help me with some notes is all! Come on! Don't make me beg?" she whimpered with a pouty lip.

Everyone gathered around groaned as one. That pretty much sealed their fate. There was no escaping the lip quiver.

Jaune sighed, his head lulling back before speaking up for everyone present.

"What do you wanna know?"

Inwardly, Ruby pumped her fist in victory. Listening to her mother on cute tactics never failed and were so not a waste of time. Yang should have listened, "I just need to know more about the aftermath of the Great War is all. I need to write an essay on the important impacts affecting society now because of the end of the war. I got a few notes down already from before the fighting, but I may have been goofing off after writing a few things down." she said sheepishly.

Yang looked up knowingly at Ruby, "You were hanging out with Penny again, weren't you?"

"I had to! Did you know she's never eaten ice cream before? I had no choice but go on a tour of all the ice cream shops in Vale so she would know what she was missing out on! It was purely educational."

"For your stomach maybe." Yang smirked, poking her sister's forehead teasingly. Done with her own plate alongside the others, she rested back along with her fellow blond while mentally going over what she recalled from her school days. "So, what's the first thing you want to know?"

Quickly reaching for her backpack at the bottom of her feet, Ruby began her questions with several messy notes in hand, "Alright! Now, while I was reading up on Oobleck's textbooks on the history of the Great War, I noticed that a few things had been omitted. One of them being the existence of Grimm. I found it weird that they would leave something like that out in a history textbook. It was a major part of the old days of Remnant!" Ruby asked out loud with a puzzled frown.

"Grimm?" Jaune returned her frown with one of his own. "You mean that old folktale from the dark ages? Why wouldn't they leave them out of the history books? It's a history book, not a book on myths."

"That, and they really were nothing more than stories to keep the younger kids from misbehaving." Blake continued on with a small smile, "Grimm were nothing more than a metaphor for the negativity of the time. It was said that things were so dark and grim, that it was said to have become tangible. People whispered about seeing things in the dark that weren't there. They used Grimm as an excuse for unsolved deaths and tragedies and had even been the cause of Mistral's unfair law on banning arts and culture. Not to mention there has never been any fossil records of Grimm. Not even Oobleck has stumbled on any in his fossil expeditions."

"But what about the stories my Mom read to me!?" Ruby stubbornly argued. While she herself knew that Grimm weren't real and nothing but fun stories to read about, she still felt they were an important part of history too. That and she felt that maybe they had existed once upon a time. She wasn't the only one interested in Grimm studies, Oobleck had spent years researching them.

"Like Blake said, make believe." Jaune answered back, "I know you might be thinking to those old books left behind from the war, but they can't possibly be true. Otherwise we'd still be seeing Grimm. It's not like negativity doesn't exist anymore." he said sourly, thinking back to the two men he found harassing May.

The world may have been in in a period of peace, but it still had its own darkness lurking around. He knew that for sure.

Knowing she wouldn't get anywhere on the subject, Ruby huffed before flipping through her papers.

"Fine, I guess I can't add in anything Grimm related. What about Huntsman? I know they had to have existed!" she stubbornly, her silver eyes daring anyone to say otherwise.

To that, Weiss took over. Sipping her cool glass of water serenely, she motioned her hands so-so, "Well, Huntsman were indeed real. Those times they called some of the strongest soldiers Huntsman and Huntresses for their incredible combat prowess that could best even the wildest of beasts. Though many of their feats of strength are exaggerations. After all, what human could possibly shatter shields with their bare fists or command elements to their whim? Not to mention the myth of their power."

"You mean Aura?"

"Of course. As if humans had some mystical energy within their bodies that could shield them from harm and unlock super powers." Weiss scoffed.

"Actually, auras are indeed a real thing." Ren spoke up suddenly, gaining the attention of everyone. Especially Ruby, who's eyes sparkled giddily. He smiled weakly, easing the girl's hopes down with a gesture of his hand, "Though they do not do as you believe. Humans and Faunus emit a weak energy field around their bodies unseen to human eyes. As a practitioner of new age and old age medicine, I was taught to read auras to detect anomalies in health. But as you can guess, there is no scientific evidence to support its existence, leaving it nothing more than a theory."

"But we do have them?" Ruby leaned over from the couch to Ren, staring into his eyes hopefully.

"If you were to ignore modern belief and facts, yes." Ren answered uneasily in the face of the excited dark red head.

"Moving on." Yang urged as she reeled her little sister in. She didn't want her sister playing superhero again, they were too old for that. "What else you got? That doesn't have to do with myth or legends."

Ruby pouted but decided to go back to her questions, "Fine. What were the impacts of the end of the war? I know that all four kingdoms stopped fighting and settled into forming the United Kingdoms of Remnant soon after, but what else? Come on! I need about a thousand words worth for my paper."

"There was the lift of banning arts and culture from both Mistral and Atlas for one." Jaune threw in as he thought back to his classes with Oobleck, "Every year in Mistral they celebrate with a festival of their favorite color, Red. Back then even colors were forbidden due to fear of creating negativity. The Mistral Council apparently was really superstitious."

"Not to themselves." Blake frowned distastefully, "The lower levels of the region were forbidden from such things, but the wealthier class were free to dance, sing, watch theater, and so on. They were a bunch of hypocrites."

"The Faunus were also given freedom after the war." Nora finally added in to the conversation amid balancing a fork on her nose, "They had contributed to each side, willingly or not. Once the fighting was over with, one of the big things on the table to pass the newly formed UKR Council was banning Faunus slavery. And they were given Menagerie as their own continent before being brought to join the UKR."

"Mistral and Atlas also stopped forcing their beliefs onto not just the people of other continents, but their own. All kingdoms had formed the UKR council to make sure such things as the Great War never happened again and to monitor for any suspicious activities from each continent's governing powers. Anima has its Emperor, Atlas has its Commander in Chief, Menagerie has its Chieftain, Sanus has the Council of Sanus, and Vacou..."

"Has its anarchy." Weiss finished flatly. Her answer earned her a disapproving stare from Blake. Which she paid no mind. The truth was the truth, "Originally Vacou had a Tribe Leader, in charge of all matters and controlled the many bandits and tribes roaming the land. But with the war over with, there was no need in the modern world for tribes. They have a form of leadership in place of course, a council of leaders similar to Sanus, but even they are unable to control their own people. Tribes still exist in Vacuo and they've refused to kneel to anyone weaker than them. Due to the lack of leadership from said council, the land has become filled with war for land controlled by other tribes. Not to mention said council's own war with Sanus for land that was originally their own." Nothing but a political move to steer away from the council's own failures in controlling their own people in Weiss's opinion. That was politics for you.

While Ruby was furiously writing down all the information from her friends, she suddenly looked up with a light frown, "Do you have to say it like that? I know Vacuo's been fighting with Sanus for almost ten years, but can you really call their arguing is war? It's nothing but border control and small fights."

"And they're forming a peace treaty now. There was this whole big deal in the city this week about one of Vacuo's council members visiting Vale as a sign of peace." Yang yawned into her hand as she lazily listened to the conversation.

"Were." Weiss corrected Yang before sighing, "Due to the assassination attempt this week, the treaty has been put on hold. The treaty in question would have had some of Sanus's own soldiers lending the Vacuo council a hand with the many tribes threatening to consume the entire continent in war for control of the lands. In return, the council would stop demanding Sanus to return the land taken from them from before the Great War. I wouldn't be surprised if the one to have nearly assassinated the council member was part of one of those tribes. They don't want Sanus getting in between their war."

"And so, waters continue running deep." Ren sighed softly while snatching the knife Nora was ready to balance on her face, "True we are living in peaceful times, but that doesn't mean all is fine. It's when we are at peace, that we should all be weary. After all, the Great War had consisted of small events that eventually lead to all-out war between the kingdoms. Vacou is still full of strife and war, Atlas is strict as always while making terrifying leaps in technology, Anima has recently been stirring with its own problems with its demanding Emperor, and Menagerie's Chieftain has been supporting violent retaliations with the White Fang. If the next generation isn't careful, the leading to another Great War may not be something to scoff at."

Taking a sip of his cooling tea, Ren grew curious at the odd silence falling over the living room. He blinked and stared at his friends, finding them eyeing him strangely. Did he say something weird?

"Wow, you really know how to bring down the mood, huh?" Yang's chuckle broke the silence, causing everyone to let out a breath they had been holding in. "Seriously, are you just cool and serious all the time? I mean, you got us all thinking that war could break out any day now."

While Ren may not have known, he wasn't exactly wrong. They weren't ignorant to all that was happening to the world. The small wars with Vacou growing by the years, the unease in leadership from Anima's Emperor, Atlas recent dwelling into AI's and nuclear energy, and the troubles still facing faunus. It was almost as if an invisible air of negativity hung over the world, left ignored in favor of their so-called peace. No one liked to mention it and it was better that way for some.

Realizing what he had done, Ren apologized, "Sorry about that. I guess I went a little too deep in what is supposed to be a school report."

Ruby shook her head with small smile, "No, that's fine! Oobleck loves deep. I think I can even work that in somehow at the end for some major brownie points!" She was already writing it down in her own words as the ending to her essay. She just needed to add a little hope to it, a few reassuring sentences that they would continue on with their peace through unknowing times. "I think that's enough for now. Add in what I already have with addition to this, and I'm sure that I can finish this essay by tomorrow! If I need any more help, I'll just go to Jaune!" she said cheerfully.

Jaune blinked at the mention of himself, "Me? Can I ask why?"

"Because your great-great-great-grandfather was part of the war, right? You ought to know more about its history than anyone else. Doesn't your family have some records of the war at home or something?"

"Maybe? I've never really checked. Not much of the Great War's original records and journals were kept around. For some weird reason, a lot of that personal information has disappeared." Jaune shrugged, "It's believed that Mistral had attempted long ago to get rid of their blame in the war since they are the ones to have sparked it, burning all records kept in secret and replacing them with edited versions. Enough had survived to record their involvements, but journals like my ancestors were lost. All we really have left of our history of the war is Crocea Mors, the weapon used by my ancestor."

Ruby pouted at the loss of more help from her secret crush, but she did get some more information to pad her essay. It seemed that Mistral was always a city of conflict.

"Can you at least show it to me? Or better yet, let me borrow it! I'm sure Professor Oobleck would love to see an old heirloom like that."

Jaune snorted at the suggestion amusingly, "Crocea Mors is back home, probably being packed away as we speak since my family is moving back to Mistral with dad. And its hard to move, it weighs a ton. Not to mention its busted. The sword is stuck to the sheath and not even my dad can budge it. It's just a hunk of steel now."

Crocea Mors was just a nice decoration over the fireplace at home now. An old heirloom that was more for showing off than anything else. Jaune fondly recalled his younger days playing hero with the old sword and sheath. But the heirloom proved too heavy to ever properly wield in his small hands. The only one ever capable of ever wielding it had been his father and-

 _'You know, your sister's birthday is next month. It's a good thing we'll be moving to Anima, Shion's not too far from our new home. Everyone will be visiting her to say happy birthday and we're even bringing a cake!'_

 _'Do you think... you can fly over to sing your sister a happy birthday this year?'_

 _'I'm sorry.'_

Yang frowned softly, noticing Jaune grow silent. His blue eyes grew distant, haunted, the knuckles of his fist turning white and trembling. She sighed and reached her hand across Ruby to her fellow blond.

 **SMACK!**

"OW!" Jaune shouted suddenly from the slap upside the head, courtesy of Yang's hand. He glared at Yang while rubbing the small bump growing on his scalp, "What was that for!? You know I bruise like a banana, right?" he grumbled.

"Thought I saw a fly. My bad." Yang laughed sheepishly.

In the middle of the two, Ruby silently thanked Yang for snapping Jaune out of his funk. She almost forgot that bringing up family with the blond was a delicate subject. Especially with the time of year coming ahead. There was no need to open up a wound that refused to heal. Coughing into her fist, she gave everyone a big smile in thanks as she got up from her seat.

"Well it's starting to get dark outside, better head on home. I still got a paper to type up." Ruby's own words caused her shoulders to drop in defeat. She was going to be dead when she came into school tomorrow. Maybe she could just take a sip of Professor Oobleck's coffee when she walked into class? Just a sip, she wasn't taking any more after speed blitzing through the halls after the last time. The historian drank some powerful stuff.

Nora whined, "Aww! I wanted to have a slumber party!"

"Where?" Weiss couldn't help but ask as she stood up to help Ren set away the dirty dishware, "Jaune's room is occupied and wouldn't fit us all, not to mention the living room's a mess. None of us even have any night ware to sleep in."

"OH! We coul-"

"We're not sleeping out in our undergarments!"

"Prude. I'm sure Jaune would like to see his Snow Angel sleeping under his roof in her frilly underwear! Or are you self-conscious of your fla-

Anything else Nora would have blurted died when she found Weiss tackling her to the ground. Nora's voice was muffled by a torn red pillow, Weiss keeping the girl's mouth shut with a pink blush on her pale cheeks.

Craning his neck over at the two girls wrestling forms, Jaune wasn't sure what to do. When dealing with anything Nora related, he turned to the expert.

"Should we stop them, Ren?"

"No, let them be. Nora brought this onto herself." Ren said loudly from the kitchen.

 _'Good idea. Not like I could get in between them.'_ Jaune thought with a blush as he watched Nora and Weiss roll around the living room. Weiss's hair had been undone in the scuffle, letting her beautiful snow-white hair flow over pink dusted face. Damn it, even if he said he got over his silly crush, he still couldn't help but admire her. Even when she was in a cat fight. Wait, could this be considered a cat fight?

"Go Weiss! I got fifty Lien on you! Don't let that sugar junkie take my cookie money away!"

"FINISH HER! Come on, Nora! I need that money for my new boxing gloves! Mama Yang needs that cash!"

Well Yang and Ruby had already gone with placing bets on the winner, so yes? Jaune's blush grew, his mind falling into the gutter at the thought of seeing the two girls wrestling in mud with less clothing. Great, now he was thinking like Blake.

For some reason, Blake narrowed her eyes at Jaune, her cat ears twitching at the stray thought of defending herself. She huffed, turning back to the wrestling while reaching for a small notebook hidden in her turtleneck sweater. Her mind rewrote what she was seeing for a more risqué audience, scribbling away on the paper to her hearts content. Times like this she was thankful for hanging around such a strange circle of friends, it made her secret hobby of writing and posting mature fiction online much easier. _'I think I'll call this one, Bubbly Snow.'_

In the midst of taking the liberty of washing Jaune's dishes, Ren peeked behind his back to the commotion in the living room. He rose a brow at finding Ruby and Yang cheering on their respective fighters on the floor, Jaune gulping as he stood by, and Blake blushing and whispering things not appropriate in public while writing in her so called secret smut journal. He could only sigh before a small smile grew on his face.

 _'All we're missing is Pyrrha to complete the picture.'_ Ren thought fondly only to be interrupted by the vibration of his scroll. He scowled, already knowing who was at the other end.

"Master Lie, what is this I hear about calling for the services of the Hasu? I would have thought you of all people understood not to call on them unless it was for an utmost serious incident." The voice on the other end of the scroll said strictly.

Ren's voice was lax as he answered between rinsing the last of the dishes, "It was a false alarm. I had thought I needed the Hasu for a discreet matter to help out a close ally, but it seems he has it handled. I apologize for stirring them up so carelessly, Aniki."

"Is that so?" Aniki sighed through the other end tiredly. Ren could almost picture the older man pinching the bridge of his nose, "Well, just be sure not to make such a call again unless you're absolutely sure. We can't have any of the Hasu roaming about right now. Your Uncle doesn't wish for any more incidents leading back to the Lie name. We're stilling working on dealing with the leaked reports of the White Lily Incidents."

Ren tightened his grip over the scroll, his eyes darkening with a cold fury. He did his best to keep such ill emotions from passing over his voice.

"Of course. I know Uncle is working hard to protect my father's legacy. He does only what is best for the Lie name and its practices."

Aniki clicked his tongue, sensing the hostility in Ren's voice. But he couldn't say anything back, he was ordered to serve the young heir and not speak back.

"Just be careful not to stir up any trouble, Master Lie. We only have a few months left before we return to Anima. I know your mother is very excited for your return." Aniki's end clicked, signaling the end of the call. Leaving Ren to stare at his scroll with an annoyed scowl.

Not wanting to think of the matter any longer, Ren pocketed his scroll before cleaning off his hands and turning back to the chaos in the living room. It didn't take too long for his expression to lighten up as he watched his friends.

He was going to miss these happy times.

* * *

Bleary eyed and still feeling tired after last night's reunion with his friends, Jaune continued to fight the yawn threatening to leave his lips. The yawn turned into a grunt as he helped to lift several large pieces of equipment on the back of a pick-up truck.

Last night had been fun. In fact, it had been the most fun Jaune had in the last few months since taking over Crow's Nest. For once he didn't go to sleep stressed out over his bills or lack of work this week. He couldn't even recall falling asleep at all. What had been plans to leave had quickly fallen into a late-night movie marathon. The last thing he remembered was watching a few movies on a portable holo screen big enough for all of them to watch in the living room with a big old bowl of popcorn and snacks. At some point he must have dozed off, waking up to the blaring bell theme of his scroll's alarm the next morning with a face caked in soda and sweets. When he got up in a rush to get ready for work, Jaune was pleasantly surprised to see that they had cleaned his living room before they left. And somehow the door to his shop had been fixed. Most likely Ren's handiwork.

It was a good thing he didn't have to worry about cleaning up before he left for work this morning. He had almost arrived late since he slept through his alarm for the most part. After making some breakfast for May and checking up on her condition before he left, Jaune had headed off to his first and only job for the day.

Another yawn fought to pass Jaune's lips, winning over as he yawned openly. He smacked his lips, grimacing when he just noticed he had skipped out on brushing his teeth. At the very least the boss offered free coffee for everyone on shift, even if the stuff was the bitterest blend he had ever tasted.

Loading another piece of the demolishing equipment onto the back of the truck, Jaune stepped away along with the construction crew members now that their part was done. A cloud of dirt rose and drifted past them as the driver drove away to move the equipment to another location. Leaving them to go back to whatever work was left to be done.

Jaune groggily moved away from the men around him, his feet taking him away to a red, rusted, beaten trailer sitting in the middle of the construction site. The trailer served as the home base of the man that had hired Jaune and also a little station for all the workers to stop by for free water and coffee. Not to mention the door was open for them if they had any concerns or just needed to talk. But Jaune just needed something to keep him going through the seven-hour shift today. He couldn't be dozing off in a hazardous work environment like this after all. No need for his bills to be accompanied by a hospital bill.

Taking a foam cup in hand, Jaune poured himself a cup of the steaming dark brew. He eyed the sugar and cream beside the coffee machine before shrugging. Normally he would be all for cream and sugar in his coffee but thought it would be better to drink it as is. The bitter dark brew washed over his tongue, causing Jaune's face to grimace slightly at the taste. Bitter taste aside he could already feel the jolt of energy hit him with just the first sip. So, he chugged it down with gusto along with a second cup despite both the bitterness and scalding pain.

"You know that's how an addiction starts, Shrimp."

Startled by the voice behind him, Jaune accidentally found some of the coffee enter his windpipe. He coughed roughly, beating his chest with a glare aimed at Bronz's smirking face.

"I-If I die because of you, I'm h-haunting you from b-beyond the grave!" Jaune threatened in between his coughing fit.

Bronz chuckled at the blond, helping his friend out with a few rough pats on his back, "It's your fault for chugging your coffee down like a college freshman at a kegger! That's the boss's special blend, it's not wise to drink too much of that stuff in one sitting. Not unless you want to commit suicide." he chuckled.

"Trust me, I can handle my coffee." Jaune grumbled once he regained his breath. He shuddered at the thought of a much stronger blend he had only once during his high school years, _'Should have never taken that dare from Nora to take a sip of Dr. Oobleck's personal thermos. I swore it was like I was tripping between dimensions.'_

Ignoring Bronz's skeptical stare, Jaune toss the disposable cup aside and turned to the beaten red door to the trailer. Since he was here, he might as well see what he could do for the next two hours. His shift was almost over with and he had no plans of being sent home early. He had bills to be paid in full, damn it.

Bronz shook his head when he noticed Jaune frown from the lack of response from knocking on the door.

"No luck, Shrimp. The boss is actually out of the office right now. Apparently, there's some situation down at the entrance. Something about some punks stirring up trouble." Bronz informed Jaune with a sigh. "Poor little brats. When Quill's interrupted in the middle of his paperwork, he ain't exactly the most forgiving. They're going to be leaving with some bruises if they don't scuttle on out of here."

"Trouble?" Jaune frowned as he stepped back to walk alongside Bronz. Seeing as he had nothing to do, he might as well tag along with Bronz and help him out with whatever work he had going on, "What would some punks want to cause trouble around here for? Not like we have some safe around here."

"But we do! It's actually locked away very tightly in the trailer. No one but the good old boss has access to it. Not like some punks would know." Bronz nonchalantly as their feet took them in sight of the entrance to the construction site. He glanced over to see in imposing figure blocking his view of whoever was harassing the guys lazing about in front and grinned, "And even if they did, what could they do? We don't exactly need security with all the strong-armed men working with deadly tools at every corner of this place. Not to mention the boss ain't no slouch. He can easily take care of a few idiots without even needing to crack his knuc-"

 **CRACK!**

The echoing sound of bone cracking in the air cut off Bronz's sentence as the next thing both he and Jaune saw was three flying bodies pass them by. Both found themselves speechless, watching as one of the men had dug his feet into the ground mid-flight and skid to a stop. The man was a good two inches taller than Jaune and wore a simple white tank-top with a gray coat tied around his waist, ripped gray jeans, and brown leather boots. He was rippling with the muscles of a boxer, his face chiseled yet aged along with a cleft chin, his eyes a light shade of brown, and his short dirty blond hair was spiked back with his hair tips colored black. The hairstyle actually reminded Jaune of the quills of a porcupine. For good reason.

Bronz rushed over to the muscled man's side with a worried frown, "You alright, Quill?! What the hell was that?!" he shouted, noting the slight trail of blood on the dirty blond's chin.

Quill grunted roughly, pushing Bronz's aside as he stood up with a growl, "Damn thugs! Kids these days apparently don't know how to respect their elders!" he spat angrily.

 _'Thugs?'_ Jaune gulped. Punks was one thing, but thugs were another. There was a difference between those who were all talk and those who acted on those words. Jaune felt a pang of anger, noticing his boss's shirt had been ripped open by whatever had hit him square in the chest. He could make out Quill's chest bruising already. Quill was a good man, rough around the edges and spoke like a grumpy old man, but he was a good man. And more importantly he had given Jaune a job and treated him right for all his hard work.

To see someone who had taken a chance on him hurt made his blood boil.

"Ohhhhhh, Quilly~! Come back, boy~! I didn't mean to smack you that hard! I thought an old man like yourself could take harder hits than that!"

Jaune's back stiffened at the familiar cackle coming closer to them. No, it couldn't be. Not even he had that kind of bad luck!

Flanked by four of his goons was the familiar bandanna masked face of Drake, the so-called leader of the Chipped Fang. The sight of him put Jaune on edge, his face stinging in remembrance of the lizard faunus beating a few days ago. Jaune had honestly believed he would never see the thug again, but his recent developments in the luck department were loudly proving him wrong.

Tweaking with some odd sleek forest green gauntlet decorated with scales, Drake strolled over to the grimacing and out of breath Quill. No one could see it, but Drake was grinning widely in satisfaction. A normal punch wouldn't have done much against someone like Quill who was made of muscle. But with the nice little bonus from their recent partners that was no longer a problem. His newest little gadget would help to sharpen his claws.

It was only until Drake had stopped a few spaces from Quill that his focus widened and revealed that the head honcho of the site wasn't alone. He picked up another human by Quill's side, glaring daggers at him with every intent of leaping at him. Then there was the oddly familiar head of blond hair and annoying blue eyes. Drake slapped himself, his grin only growing in viciousness.

"Is that who I think it is?! No way, don't tell me that it really is you?! No, wait! Do." Drake ignored Quill for a moment, his attention entirely focused on Jaune. Drake's sneered at the taller man, his fingers tensing as Jaune scowled, "I've been meaning on settling some old business at some later point after my own work, but this will do just fine!"

Quill's spiked hair stood on end, revealing the barbed points of his faunus heritage as he snarled, "DON'T TOUCH A HAIR ON THAT KI-!"

Drake paid Quill little mind, losing his focus on the stronger man as he aimed his hand at the porcupine faunus. From his scaled gauntlets, three links of slim chains were fired from three odd opening ports along the knuckles like pistons. They were fired too fast to make out the small iron slug like weights that were attached. In a single second the chains had struck Quill square in the chest once again with the sound of a firecracker. A small explosion erupted and clouded Quill's upper body, clouding his condition.

Jaune watched, silent and terrified before he made out the familiar sound of a body hitting the floor with a thud. The smoke fell, revealing Quill laying on his back. Burns marred his upper body centered with the nasty scorch mark on his chest. He didn't move.

"Huh. Well, that wasn't supposed to happen the way I wanted it to." Drake blinked, staring at his handiwork in surprise before looking to his new toy. He was still figuring it out after only messing with it for a few hours.

Bronz, who had been standing closer to the boss, reacted first with an angry snarl and a flying fist aimed at Drake.

Retracting the chains back into his gauntlet, Drake chose to deal with Bronz by moving just out of reach of the punch with a skip. Drake rolled his eyes at the man before back handing the worker away.

"Calm down, trash. Old Quilly ain't dead. I just knocked him out for a bit. We Chipped Fang ain't about murder, we're about spreading fear and intimidating the human masses!" Drake shouted with a grin, watching as Bronz shrugged of his blow and ran back with another wild swing of his fists. Drake's fingers flew to his gauntlet, changing the settings to what he normally intended for Quill. Sharp tipped prongs attached by his chains dug into Bronz's chest, sending a powerful current of electricity to stun him. The worker's body was hit with spasms as his mind went blank before Drake pulled back his chains. Like Quill, Bronz fell to the ground without another wod.

One of the thugs by Drake's side pointed to the body of Quill with a frown, "Uh, Drake? How are we going to break into the guy's safe if he ain't talking?"

Drake shrugged as he fixed his gauntlet, "Meh, we don't need money right now. For once we'll leave the cash. Besides, that's not why we came here. We got a certain rat to smoke out first." he growled before turning his eyes to Jaune.

In the time he had been focusing on Bronz, the lizard faunus had sadly forgotten about Jaune. And Jaune wasn't one to be standing aside when his friends were in trouble.

Jaune closed the distance between himself and Drake without the others noticing. Drake's eyes were wide, stunned as he watched the tight knuckles block his sight.

 **WHACK!**

A metal ding reached Jaune's ears before his vision grew disoriented. His fist slacked, his arm fell, and he drunkenly stumbled back. Blood ran down the back of his head, courtesy of the blunt weapon bashing his skull. He tried to speak, only to sputter and lose his ability to properly speak as he fell forward with a loud thump.

Drake whistled, scratching the back of his head as he watched Jaune fall into unconsciousness. That was far too close for his liking. He didn't need some human punk making him look bad in front of his boys. He turned to the right to see one of his men cleaning off the blood from his metal bat with a scowl on his face.

"Nice reflexes, Crock! But you didn't kill the guy, right?" Drake asked threateningly.

Crock, a crocodile faunus with patches of hard dark green scales running along his hands to this forearms and dark green hair, sharp features and pale blue eyes, nodded.

"He might wake up with some brain damage, but he'll live." he answered in a deep monotone voice.

"As long as he's still breathing, I'm fine with that!"

In the midst of Drake's dealing of the three workers, he had forgotten about the fact he was now within the construction site. It wasn't long until he noticed the workers had taken notice of him and his entourage. He sighed, cracking his neck before nodding his head to the second guy he had brought with him.

"Signal the others. We still have a lynching to get to. And remember, no lethal wounds. Just knock them out and tie them all up along with these bozos." Drake ordered strictly, getting a thumbs up from his lackey.

Now, time to see how well his new weapons could handle multiple targets.

* * *

When Jaune opened his eyes again, he groaned in pain from one of the worst aching headaches he had ever experienced. It felt like his head had been split in two. Idly he noticed his head was sticky and would have moved his fingers to see what he had on his face, if it weren't for the fact he found his wrists tied behind his back. Alarmed, he shook his head of the grogginess and worked through his blurred vision to focus on where he was now.

"AND! THAT'S! WHY! SNITCHES! GET! STITCHES!"

In the middle of the construction site of all the normal activity that should be taking place, Jaune bore witness to watching Drake beating up a man tied against an iron beam planted up right into the dirt. Jaune recognized the man, or faunus, as one of the workers on duty that he worked alongside this week. He was a rat faunus with curly black hair, a handlebar mustache, and two front teeth elongated like a rat's.

Drilling another hard knuckle fist into the rat faunus man, Drake stepped back to take a look at his handiwork. His target's face was bruised horribly with one eye blackened shut, one of his rat teeth was chipped, and several cuts marred his skin, courtesy of Drake's gauntlets. It was a wonder the rat was still conscious.

Drake sighed dramatically as he rubbed his fists over his gauntlets, "You know, it didn't have to be this way, Whisk. You could have continued as our little information man, but no~! You just had to leave us just when we got landed with an awesome opportunity! What? Grow a conscious or something?" he sneered.

Whisk, despite his beaten state, chuckled nervously, sweat rolling down his face like running water.

"Y-Yeah! I didn't want to continue stealing or hurting people, you know? We're b-better than that!"

Drake wasn't so convinced, "Right. And clearly, your growing a conscious has nothing to do with the missing 5G's from our hideout? Or the sudden miraculous discovery of said hideout to the cops?" he said flatly.

"Uhhh, coinciden-!"

A hard fist dug deep into Whisk's stomach before he could finish his sentence.

"Don't think so. I ain't no chump, dumbass. I know for a fact that you had the oh so brilliant idea of running off with a heavy pocket full of Lien before things in the gang went south in your opinion. Seems you don't have much faith in your brothers and sisters to stick around till the bitter end." Drake spat angrily with eyes full of betrayal, "We finally find an opportunity to grow as an organization that can make the White Fang proud, to make Sienna proud! To be accepted back to our home! And to help prove that we faunus aren't anything to sneer at! But no! You! WANT! TO! BACK! OUT! LIKE! A! BITCH!" Each furious word was followed with another heavy strike to Whisk's abdomen, further bruising the already black and blue skin. Drake snapped his fist back, shaking it off. As much as he wanted to continue beating up the traitor, he knew better than to waste his energy so early. It was only a matter of time before the boys in blue arrived.

He needed to wrap things up quickly and move onto the real mission.

Turning his back to the wheezing rat with no breath, Drake gave a subtle nod to his right-hand man, Crock. The whole point of this was to make an example to anyone in their ranks growing cold feet. Whisk was making a great example of what would happen to those who tucked in their tails and ran.

"I'm done with this piece of trash. Give him a few more reminders of his mistakes, then leave him. Let his new buddies he snitched to take care of him. We'll see how he likes them when he's to blame for the missing Lien belonging to Quill and the damaged property. Plus, all the bruises on the workers." Drake smirked cruelly behind his bandanna.

Crock quirked a brow in disbelief, "You think they'll believe he did all this?" he said uncertainly.

Drake laughed humorlessly, "Whisk's a faunus. A member of the Chipped Fang. He's also got a history, albeit petty, with the cops. Knowing those humans, they'll place all the blame onto him to make up for failing to capture the real criminals. A dirty faunus like him is bound to be blamed for this little incident."

"You know he'll just squeal and rat us all out? He's more of a liability alive." Crock hissed with a narrowed gaze aimed at the struggling to breath rat man. "Just once, we-"

"No." Drake cut off his fellow Chipped Fang with finality, leaving no room for argument, "Unlike those humans, we're better than that. We stick to Sienna Khan's teachings, earning respect with actions and barred fangs. We're not as low as the humans to do anything more than beat the respect into them." he spoke adamantly with a growl in his voice. His back still turned, he only returned a glance back at his subordinate, his red eye glaring, "I'll deal with whatever that snitch does to harm us. Whatever information he gives out is old news, we got bigger plans to worry about. Plus, if his blabbing mouth becomes a problem, I'll let our new 'friends' know. Then he'll become their problem."

Crock wanted to argue with his leader but knew better. That was the one rule Drake held above all others in their little gang; No killing. He didn't want to cross a line the humans had in the past. They were better than that. Which Crock found stupid. Rules were rules, and Crock had no reason to break them, however ridiculous they were. Sighing, the large man cracked his knuckles and moved to break Whisk some more.

Crock had faith in his leader. Drake was the one person he trusted above all others.

"W-What the h-hell are you doing?!"

Both Drake and Crock paused. They heard a haggard voice speak up, angered and hoarse. Drake was pretty sure that they had knocked out all the workers with some nasty whacks. One of them must have had a pretty dense skull on them. That would be impressive if not irritating right now. Annoyed at the new problem on his hands, Drake spun around to find a familiar set of glaring blue eyes.

"You?" Drake glowered in annoyance, finding Jaune sitting up with a glare through his grimace.

Jaune wasn't what you would call in his right mind right now. His head was ringing with a splitting headache centered at the back of his head. He was pretty sure someone bashed the back of his head with something hard. Despite that, he was well enough to speak up when something wasn't right. And watching another guy get the crap beat out of them wasn't right.

For whatever reason, the pain from his bashed skull began to dull thanks to a warm sensation growing around his body. It was like Raven's odd touches. Right now, he didn't question it, focusing his attention on Drake and his right hand. His fingers began to move behind his back, to the ropes bindings his wrists.

Drake scoffed at the worn-out blond. While it was a setback for the blond brat to be awake, it wouldn't mess with their plans. He already had his boys leave once they had busted up the machinery around the site. All that was left was to break into the safe in Quill's trailer, knock out Whisk, plant the cash in his pocket, and let the chips fall into place. He wasn't naive enough to think that they would believe Whisk had done everything, but it would be enough rustle some feathers with the faunus community. It would turn complicated and further show how poorly humans dealt with faunus.

Though this was the perfect time to earn some payback. Drake grinned as he stepped up to the restrained blond, eager to return to his earlier beating from days ago.

"Well, don't you have a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? I've been meaning to track you down and wrap up our unfinished business. But I've been busy with our new plans. But it looks like it's my lucky day!" Drake laughed, stopping in front of Jaune. He leaned down, his mischievous, ill intent eyes staring into Jaune's scowling blue, "Not only will I take care of a rat, but also a human pest!"

 **SMACK!**

Drake shouted out in pain as Jaune's skull suddenly smacked into his own. Funny enough, Jaune also cried out in pain, regretting the headbutt seconds later. _'Why?! Why did I think that was a good idea?!'_ Jaune groaned. Though the pain was worth it at seeing the lizard faunus cry out. It brought a smirk to his lips.

"You bitch!" Drake shouted furiously. He held his bruising forehead gingerly, his eyes livid and promising payback. Seeing the slight smirk on Jaune's face was the tipping point. Throwing back his hands, he shouted to Crock, "Hand me a pipe or something! It's time I made this bastard curse the day he fucking crossed my line of sight! I'll beat the damned fear of faunus into this little bitch, so help me god!" he roared.

Crock complied, spotting a pile of pipes along with several busted-up tools. Handing his leader the weapon, he couldn't help but ask, "What about Whisk? We don't have much time until the cops arrive, you know?"

Drake didn't turn back as he responded with a hiss, "Then deal with it yourself! Finish the rat off and plant the cash on him, then scram! I'll handle this little loose end and follow up. Because I can't let this little opportunity slip me by again." he grinned sadistically.

Crock rolled his eyes. Drake could be really petty with personal grudges. Better to leave him to deal with his own matters and continue the mission. With a sigh, the crocodile faunus turned back to cracking his knuckles and beating down the traitor. Each thud of fist meeting flesh and gasp of pain from Whisk made Jaune cringe.

Fingers roughly gripping blond locks, Drake brought Jaune's face up to meet his eyes again. Only this time he had a nice and sturdy pipe raised above the blond human's head. Ready for splitting some thick bones.

"You should have just kept your mouth shut, brat! I might have even forgotten about you. I tend to get tunnel vision when on a job. But no!" Drake chided with his grin growing wider and more vicious, his eyes gleaming with violence, "Someone had to speak up! The fuck do you even care? The rat's a faunus. It wouldn't be the first time a human turned a blind eye to a beaten animal."

Jaune grimaced at the feeling of his hair being yanked, noting that a few strands were being ripped out from the roots. He couldn't help but laugh. An action that rubbed Drake the wrong way.

"You think this is the worst I've had it? Buddy, I was a dork in high school, an easy target for bullies. I know a guy who could lift twice his weight and had a hobby for using me as his personal punching bag. And guess what?" Jaune grinned ruefully, his face dirty and bruised from his earlier headbutt, "It was for the same reason as now. For speaking up when he was picking on a bunny eared friend of mine!"

"OH?" Drake gasped dramatically, his eyes narrowing to thin lines, "And what? You think that makes you a prime example of humans who give a fuck? Shut the hell up, bitch. Stand up for one faunus and humans think they're the shit, that they're not racist. You stand up for one bunny, but guess what? I know for a fact that there are dozens of little bunnies in pain that you've ignored!" Drake shouted with a fist clocking Jaune on his left cheek. The gauntlets ripped open a wound on his face, causing blood to trickle with a bruise quickly forming.

Temper going overboard, Drake began pummeling the restrained blond with furious grunts.

"You think because you're friends with a faunus, that makes you alright?! That because you know a few faunus personally, that you're not racist?! That just because you've never picked on or abused a faunus, you're nothing like the rest?! You think you can ride on some majestic white fucking stallion above everyone else because you're not part of the problem?! GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!"

In his rage, Drake had forgotten about the pipe in hand. That wasn't true for long. After delivering an uppercut that cut open the skin of Jaune's chin, Drake's eyes glanced back to the pipe in his right hand. He laughed darkly, raising it back up above Jaune's head as the blond boy's head fell. Pissed he may be, but he wouldn't do anything to kill him. A cracked skull was treatable. It was all about spreading fear, not terror.

"If you turn away from the problem, you are part of the problem. If all you do is speak up and shake your head in disgust, then you're no better than the humans who've continued looking down on us faunus. Only actions matter. And you don't look like the hero type to me." Drake spat in disgust before swinging the heavy polished pipe overhead.

 **SMACK!**

"FUCKING HELL!"

Once again, Jaune bashed his head against Drake's forehead, swearing he could make out a ding between bone against bone. The force of the blow was enough to send the lizard man stumbling back with a guttural groan as he dropped the pipe and held his forehead. He cringed, cursing himself for dropping his guard with the blond again before turning his attention back to Jaune. Drake's eyes grew wide when he found knuckles glaring right back at him. Jaune's fist drilled into his face with enough force to bend his nose to the right and send him tumbling to his ass.

Drake clutched onto his now bloody nose, fighting back the tears in his eyes. _'That little bitch! How the fuck did he get out of his restraints!?'_

The Chipped Fang leader rose to his feet, glaring hatefully at the now free Jaune. The blond human glared right back, tossing aside the last of the rope used to bind his wrists together.

"Whoever tied me up has a poor idea of a knot. Tough luck for you, but I was in boy scouts!" Jaune grinned, thumbing himself before his face fell with embarrassment, "Well, more like girl scouts since it was mostly made up of my sisters and me along with a few more friends of theirs, all girls. But at least I learned how to tie and undue the most annoying knots." he said with some pride.

The beating earlier had left Jaune with some welts across his face, not to mention the bruising. He was not a sight for sore eyes right now. But oddly enough, he felt fine. Like he had just received a boost of energy in the heat of the moment. Just like yesterday when he had saved Bronz. Hell, his poor excuse for a fist wasn't even hurting this time. Again, weird.

Drake growled. His left hand automatically aimed for Jaune, firing off three chained prongs of sparking metal tips. Jaune didn't waste a second, leaning to the right to avoid the stabbing shots. Watching them retract back to the lizard faunus' gauntlet, Jaune formed another fist and ran straight for Drake with a yell. Another tasering shot was fired at him that he dodged easily, ducking under the attack while the chains whipped back to slash at him in a wide arc.

"How the hell are you dodging?!" Drake roared, once again firing his chains. This time before they could reach Jaune, he whipped them again, aiming to slash instead of penetrate.

Jaune leaned to the right, missing the diagonal swing by a hair. He let out a nervous chuckle.

"Wish I could tell you! Far as I know, I've always been an expert in dodging when my adrenaline's pumping! I may not be able to hit too hard, but I can sure as hell dodge a punch!" Jaune shouted proudly before reaching Drake with a hard right to the faunus' face.

Drake moved fast, raising his forearm to block the fist. His grin was downright snarky as he aimed his gauntlets at close range for Jaune's stomach. Warning bells rang off in Jaune's head, forcing his body to twist out of the way of the piston like shots and spin around to Drake's back. Drake cursed foully, spinning his body around while preparing another chain from his left gauntlet. The three links of sparking metal shot right for Jaune's chest, ready to give him the shock of a lifetime.

But Jaune's body moved before he could think, forcing him to jump to his right. Not only avoiding the taser shots, but also the familiar metal bat swinging overhead. Both Crock and Drake's eyes went wide in disbelief as the prong tipped chains stabbed into the crocodile faunus chest. A second later, Crock screamed as his body was electrocuted by the watts of electricity connected to the chains, convulsing his body before the electrical current died down. Light smoke wafted from his body due to the frequency being upped solely for Jaune's suffering. The crocodile faunus opened his mouth to speak, only for his eyes to roll back into his head and fall back with a thud.

Drake was left speechless at what just happened along with Jaune, both gaping at the sudden turn of events. Then Drake's anger snapped him back to his target, a snarl stretching wide across as his face as he barked angrily.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH! OH, I'M KNOCKING YOU CLOSE TO DEATH'S DOOR FOR THAT!"

Jaune gulped. _'Crap! Now he's really pissed. Well, at least Whisk won't be beaten up to a beaten banana paste now. That's good, right?'_ Because now the only one who was going to have the living crap beaten out of them was Jaune. It looked like Whisk wasn't even conscious to appreciate his help. Poor guy having fallen into unconsciousness a while ago. At least Jaune had plenty of practice being the punching bag to bullies.

Messing with the controls of his gauntlets, Drake aimed his hand back at Jaune, warning him to dodge. Drake only grinned cruelly as the chains flew. Instead of letting them continue with their flight, he swung his arm around, coiling the chains around the entirety of his arm like a metal coat of armor. With his new metal appendage, he dashed straight for Jaune. Drake threw a downward slash of his clawed gauntlets that Jaune stepped back from at the last second. Jaune flinched, noticing both the feeling of the air being parted and a whoosh from one of the faunus attacks. Drake flipped his hand over, bringing it back up for a rising slashing uppercut as he stepped into Jaune's guard following his dodge. The sudden action was too fast for Jaune to completely dodge, earning three bleeding cuts on his chin from a failed back step.

Drake's right arm was wrapped in chains a second later, allowing him to swing both heavy arms after the dodging blond. Each swing released an audible whoosh as the lizard faunus laughed. Even though Jaune was missing the full impacts of his swings, he was earning a fair share of cuts along his body.

In the two's dance of dodge and attack, they began moving away from the center of the construction site to a more hazardous location full of broken wreckage. Bundles of iron beams hung over head by gurneys, several pieces of tools were laid ruined by the Chipped Fang, rock piles littered about, and unfinished structures were abandoned and left bare like metal skeletons. One wrong step for either and it wouldn't be pretty.

Jaune huffed, breathing heavily as he twisted out of the way of a spinning uppercut. Again, he felt the wind rake his skin, opening up a nice three inch cut above his right eye. What the hell was that? It was like the wind was-!

Jaune gasped, finding Drake kicking him in the gut with enough force to rob all his breath and send him flying back against the beam of an unfinished section of the structure. His cheeks bulged, losing their fight to keep his breakfast in and vomited his stomach onto the ground. He grimaced at the foul taste on his lips but had no time to worry about that. Drake ran back for him with his right hand raised high with a crazed laugh. Instincts took control at the moment. Jaune ducked and rolled out of the way as the lizard faunus threw down two horizontal swings where he stood. An odd sound could be heard like a knife scratching steel.

Drake missed, his gauntlet's claws never even grazed the beam. So, what made that sound?

Jaune held his mouth shut, feeling his stomach still churning after the kick to the gut. He didn't have the luxury to be sitting still though. Already he could see Drake moving to turn back and continue his assault. Jaune moved, running behind the faunus lizard, his body relying solely on adrenaline at this point.

"You forget something?" Drake chuckled lowly, catching Jaune off guard.

Jaune's eyes went wide, fear etched itself through his body as something ripped out of the backside of Drake. A familiar green moss slithering tail shot after him the moment Jaune got close. It struck his neck, causing the blond to gasp as it coiled around his windpipe. The tail showed off its surprising strength by lifting the blond teen up off the ground by a good twelve inches. Leaving him dangling, Drake glanced back at him without ever turning around. Drake's chains uncoiled themselves from both his arms, clicking back to their chambers before his aimed his right hand at the struggling blond.

"I gotta admit, you're a slippery one for a human. Not many people are able to dodge my hits when I get all tunnel visioned. But you, you seem to be all too familiar with this." Drake mused curiously. He wasn't too worried about the blond breaking free.

But it was strange. The blond kid was able to dodge his attacks at the very last second almost perfectly. If it wasn't for the little extra features to his gauntlets, he would have been avoiding him all day. It was almost uncanny, especially since the blond didn't appear to have any kind of training like himself. Drake would chalk it up to natural talent, but that would be a bullshit excuse in his opinion.

Jaune gasped as the tail laxed, allowing him to breath properly and speak. He laughed hoarsely at the lizard faunus, his face bruised and scratched up by the odd cutting wind.

"I did get my ass kicked a lot in high school." Jaune smirked before grunting as Drake tightened his hold in annoyance.

"So, you developed some heightened instincts because of a few tough bullies. Bullshit." Drake's eyes narrowed sharply, eyeing the strange blond human suspiciously, "Men are trained to dodge like that, to act on impulse before their brain can process what's happening, to feel ill intent. Skill like that is honed through more than being bullied by some punks. That there is military grade training."

Jaune stared at Drake with disbelief. Was he really suggesting that he was trained like some soldier? That was-

 _'So, you want to be like Father and me? Don't you think it's time to give up that little dream? You know you're just a kid, right? It's not exactly a forgiving field.'_

A bitter thin line fell onto Jaune's lips. An old voice, one once forgotten, spoke up. It held worry, wistfulness, and all the love they could ever speak.

' _Just stick to being you. You're not fit for being a soldier. Take up guitar or something. You're just not cut out for this life. You're not father.'_

He wasn't like her.

"I'm just some freelance worker. I'm not fit for being a soldier or anything close to that." Jaune spoke bitterly, shoulders dropping as his energy left him. "I'm not some hero."

Drake clicked his teeth, spying no lies in the blond's words. Wasn't that just disappointing? To think some nobody was able to evade his attacks and even break his nose. Luck, that's what it was. Nothing but dumb luck. Well, that ended here. He'd send the boy to the hospital with a lesson not to speak up or butt into matters that didn't concern him. The chambers housing his chains lit up with orange light, signaling a more explosive shot this time. But first, a quick question.

"Freelancer, huh? That mean you get around this city a lot for all sorts of random jobs, right?" Drake asked, getting a slight nod from the defeated blond. Wasn't that helpful. And just what he might need, "Then you've seen a lot of things and people around the streets. Tell me, do you happened to have caught eye of a little girl with rusted red hair, a black beanie covering one of her eyes, blue eyes, tanned skin, looks like she should be in middle school? Goes by the name May? If you have, then I just might tone down the level of Explosive Dust hitting you." he grinned brightly with an edge to his voice.

Jaune's heart skipped a beat, his body freezing up as a cold sweat fell over him. The change of expression made Drake bare his teeth in a bigger grin. Wasn't that a telling sign?

"Oh~! What are the chances! I thought I would have to scour all the nicks and crannies of the city to find that girl with my little information network! But I've only been given the job just yesterday and I've already found her? This is my lucky day!" Drake said joyously, "So, you know where she is? Tell me. And I promise to stop right here and now." he said sternly.

Jaune bit his inner cheek at the situation he found himself in. It was just another ordinary day at another freelance job. Now he was dangling in the grip of a dangerous faunus aiming a shot of explosive chains at him. None of this was normal. What the hell did he seriously do in his past life to deserve all this? Why did things have to get so out of control once he left home?

 _'May.'_ Flashes of the rusted haired girl came to mind. Of how Jaune had found her only days ago in the rain, sick and left abandoned in the trash for anyone to find and abuse. He was reminded of her empty blue eye. And the glint of emotions behind those dull shades of blue.

Jaune grit his teeth openly, practically snarling as he was reminded of the little trust he had garnered, stranger to stranger. He had no idea what was going on, he was completely puzzled to why Drake would be searching for her, but he knew one thing. And that one thing was all that he needed to know or understand. Protect her.

"May who?"

Drake's eyes went wide with rage, the last of his patience falling apart with the smug grin/snarl on Jaune's face. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Tightening his tail over Jaune's neck, Drake spun his entire body around, whirling the blond like a wild top. Gathering enough force, he released his grip on Jaune and sent him soaring away to smack into the center of the skeleton structure of beams and columns. His gauntlets focused on the flying blond and fired three explosive tipped chains for Jaune's chest before he could even fall on his back. An explosive cloud of smoke and flames blossomed upon contact, the force of which shaking the beams and eventually causing them to fall over the smoke cloud that was Jaune in the aftermath. The ground underneath Drake's sneakers trembled as he watched the entire section come down onto Jaune with the sound of ringing metal and dirt clouds rising.

The reaction wasn't what Drake had honestly wanted. He actually looked to be concerned as he watched the settling dirt cloud fall to reveal a mess of stabbing metal dug into the ground in piles he couldn't see through. He wanted the kid beaten up, maybe crippled, but not dead. Drake looked down to his gauntlets with a sour expression, his lips drawn in a thin displeased line.

"God damn it, I didn't mean for the output to be that powerful. That's not what I wanted." Drake sighed lowly, turning his back to the little grave he had created.

Sharp amber eyes glared at Drake from his memories, causing him to clench his fists audibly.

 _'You have no home here. Someone as vicious and cruel as you is better off living with the humans you so happily terrorize.'_

A haunted expression fell on Drake, his mind flashing with a splatter of blood. He steadied his shaking breath, stuffing his trembling hands into his pockets before taking a step away.

 _'I've changed. I'm following your lead, respect through fear. I'm not the same man I use to be.'_

An odd sound stopped Drake in his tracks. Disbelief was painted across his face as he spun around to the point of nearly suffering whiplash. He stood still, watching in fascination as the bundles of stabbing beams and rubble trembled. An odd white light peaked out, growing stronger as something seemed to try and force its way out of the metal grave. Drake's mouth was slack jawed, eyeing the arm sprouting out of the rubble, bloody but alive.

 _'No. Fucking. Way.'_

With a groan of metal, Jaune jumped out of the wreckage high into the air. He flipped in his descent, landing on his feet without any signs of being exhausted or feeling any pain from the last attack. Streaks of blood were painted across his visible skin, his white T dirtied with grime, sweat, and blood, and his jeans were torn. Yet not a single visible wound could be seen. The bruises from earlier were gone, as if they were never there.

But what really stunned Drake were Jaune's eyes. Those bright blue orbs weren't there anymore. Jaune stared at Drake without emotion behind his eyes, his blue dull without any light reflecting back. As if he wasn't even present. Like something or somebody else was in control. And then there was the white light. It clung to Jaune's skin like a coat, shimmering like the light bouncing off the oceans waters.

Jaune blinked, the dull stare and dead emotions disappearing as he came back to the world. The hell just happened? One second, he was staring up through smoke as part of the buildings frame fell onto him, then he was standing up out of the death trap. His eyes fell onto his arm, noticing the burns and cuts he had suffered were gone. He didn't even feel any of the throbbing pain on his face from Drake's slugging. Just what the hell was going on?

Oh, and his arm was glowing with light. Nothing weird about that. No, perfectly natural.

 _'Wait, this feeling.'_ Jaune scrutinized the light, watching it sink back into his skin before a pulse of coating light covered his arm like reassurance on its end. _'This is the same feeling I've been getting from Raven from her touches, and the same feeling as yesterday when I saved Bronz. Have I always had this?'_

"Who the fuck are you?"

Jaune clenched his fists, reminded of his situation. He turned away from his newest fascination of energy on his body to Drake, finding the lizard faunus gaping at him. Jaune would be laughing at the expression if it wasn't for one thing.

This man, who had nearly killed him, had no problems with beating people up to near death, and controlled a gang of similar faunus, was after May. He was a threat. Jaune would have taken the opportunity to run away if Drake was simply here for him. But he had questions about his little roomie. And if people like Drake were after her, he couldn't step by and let them sniff her out.

"I'm the guy you're going to tell everything you know about May. And why you're after her." Jaune said heatedly before picking up a fifteen-inch rusted red wrench by his foot. He wasn't much for fist fighting, so a weapon would definitely help.

Drake clicked his tongue, wiping off the stunned expression on his face before switching the settings to his gauntlets. He didn't need another scare, so he would just stick with the Lightning Dust infused chains. He was running out of time, he was sure the cops were already on their way. Better to shock the human idiot into unconsciousness.

"Men like me don't snitch, Blondie. The only one saying anything about that girl will be you. Even if I have to go a little extreme again." Drake hissed as he released his chains to coil around his arms with a shink.

Neither man said a word, the air filled with the bustling sounds of the city around them. They wouldn't say a word until they forced the other to spill everything they knew.

* * *

 _ **Your fists curl with cemented purpose. But beware, the fight is only but a spark to what's to come. When you look back in the future, will you think back to regret your actions? When August is upon you, will you think twice about your purpose?**_

 _ **That power running through you is yours. Or have you forgotten the memory of your soul's release?**_

 **Things are heating up! Next time we dive straight into the action. How will our blond knight fight against an armed and trained thug? And just what the hell is up with the weird light? So many questions. You'll of course have to stick around for the answers.**

 **I did have a DLC planned, but it's not finished just yet. And I didn't want to wait any longer for the new chapter. I originally had this chapter done in the beginning of the month, but my Beta had his own things keeping him busy as well. We're both good now, so hopes to getting our chapters out faster. I know his own story is to be updated soon if you read The Last of His Name.**

 **Now, I'll be working on the next chapter right away. Back to the keyboard grind I go. Must. Resist. Temptation. To. Continue. Orginal. Work. God, I want to get back to my game.**

 **Remember to Read and Review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	5. Of Fangs and Fist-I

**Do you feel that? That fresh, smooth, ripe texture of new keyboards?! Just begging to be tapped furiously all night long! Oh, if I were a lesser man, I would moan while rubbing my cheek against her.**

 **Yes, my laptop is a she. I've said this many times before, but don't judge me. Damn it.**

 **Anyways, NeoShadows is back again. With a fresh chapter ready to go out!**

 **Now, the reason why this had taken a month is largely due to my old laptop giving out. I had abused her keys for many a nights, she just couldn't keep up with me any longer. Several keys would refuse to respond unless I stamped my finger down in rage. So, I had to save up some cash and buy a new laptop to continue my work. That took me a week. But here she is! Fresh and ready for long nights of furious tapping! And yes, I know is sounds like innuendo. Shut up.**

 **But now I'm at it again. I was so happy, I completed this chapter in three days, got half of Multiplayer's next chapter done with, and completed the final first chapter of the trio of X-over's I have in the making with RWBY. What is it, you may ponder.**

 **It's simply a Simple and Clean one. I assure you.**

 **Now, let's get to reviews!**

 **Bloodline Purger: Really? Wow, that's a little stunning. Though working on this fic is a lot of fun with all the original stuff I make. AU's can be difficult, but really make you stretch out your creativity.**

 **Jazzrapper: Yup, but how? Questions to be answered eventually, I suppose. And thanks, working on my own original content can be straining at times. Good to have some luck thrown my way.**

 **AZalmega: You're shaking now? You should watch yourself for this chapter then. This is intense. So, rise up! And brace yourself for action!**

 **WyattMoore: Damn you, damn you to hell. I have my brother spouting that meme all the damn time. Now with my fans? You're lucky I like ya, or I'd backhand you with my mighty pimp hand. Rings and all.**

 **Lordrednight: Yup, things are beginning to heat up. From here on out, it's nothing but excitement!**

 **Well, that's everything. Not as many reviews as before, but that's fine. Review when you feel like it, it's what I do. So, let's get to reading already! I got an Odd Jobs for ya'll at the end.**

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to RWBY. All rights are reserved to RoosterTeeth.**_

 _ **E3 has come and gone, ya know? I'm strangely filled with both glee, and despair. Glee for all the awesome games to come out this year and next year. And despair because I have to wait until next year for Kingdom Hearts 3. At least Frozen has been confirmed, and they brought back my favorite world, Pirates of the Caribbean. Still, I'm heart broken.**_

 _ **Sigh. Well, I do have something to take my mind off KH3 in the meantime. A fanfic writer's work is never done.**_

 _ **. . .Now leave me alone. There's a reason why people call it an incognito window. As long as it's up, I feel little shame**_

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Of Fangs and Fists-I.**

As the conflict between freelancer and thug began, a certain set of alluring purple eyes gazed upon the fighting with a biting lip. It was all she could do to stop herself from outright moaning. Rubbing her thighs together wasn't much relief either. July sighed deeply, wishing nothing more than to jump in between the two sweating men, both dirtied, breathing heavily, full of adrenaline and blood pumping! What she wouldn't do to be sandwiched in that!

Sadly, she would have to be content with watching the fun with her high spec binoculars. She sat on the edge of one of the many abandoned buildings in the inner city of Vale up for construction, dangling her legs like an innocent child. She wasn't alone. Standing behind her were four identical women with dull blue eyes, emotionless expressions, and black hair. Each wore skin tight black body suits and carried several firearms at the ready. Neither of the quadruplets moved an inch, appearing to be more statue than human. If July wasn't so preoccupied with the hot, sweaty, male on male action, she would have chastised her team of wet blankets.

"Question: Must we intervene and aid our associate?" one of the quadruplet's asked dully.

July waved the woman off, never taking her eyes off the scene in the construction site a few blocks away, "Of course not, June-Bug! Just because we're working together at the moment, doesn't mean we have to help them out. If he and his associates are caught, it's not our problem. Not until one of them opens their mouths." July grinned widely with an edge, "Then they become our problem."

The woman identified as June simply nodded, not questioning her leader anymore. She, along with her sisters, continued to guard the woman ever diligently.

"Oh! The blond looks to have gotten serious! I just love it when the dorky one's start showing some balls! Ahh, what I wouldn't do to just tackle him, rip his clothes off, and-"

If possible, the dull, never changing expressions on the four woman's faces would have grown duller. By now they had learned to tune out their leader's rather descriptive summaries with the opposite sex. And same sex. It looked like July had found herself a new play thing.

July squealed as she watched the two men finally charge at another. Now came the good part! A high-tech earbud on her left ear blinked, only making her grin grow wider at the sound of the boy's manly war cries.

 _'So, this boy knows of May? As if he hadn't already caught my attention.'_

* * *

The sound of impacting flesh echoed across the construction site.

Jaune gasped deeply from a center blow to his sternum that sent him flying off his feet like a ragdoll. Drake's gauntlet fist sparked upon contact, ready to fire off a taser link of chains. But Jaune thought quickly as he flew back from the powerful blow, falling into a roll just as the chains flew straight at him in mid-air. Missing, Drake snarled and whipped the chains around, lashing wildly at the now furiously dodging blond. He lashed out with a diagonal whip, only for Jaune to bend his upper body back in the last second. He snapped the links back, snapping them again to strike Jaune like a cobra with sparking fangs. Jaune's heart was beating furiously as he began evading the snapping strikes while he charged straight at the lizard faunus. White energy coated the rusted wrench in his right hand, throbbing like an angry vein that went unnoticed to himself. Seeing a sparking link snap after his face, Jaune quickly batted the chain shot away with a panicked shout.

At that moment, both Jaune and Drake were left stunned at the sudden reaction. The very air cracked like a gunshot had gone off when Jaune batted the chain away with a small shock wave. The Lightning Dust infused chain shattered at the tip from the force before running along the entire metal links extension. From Drake's left gauntlet to his right, his custom chain broke off into shards.

Drake was stunned at what he had witnessed. What the actual fuck was that?! The blond brat had only deflected his attack away with a rusted old wrench for crying out loud! How the hell was a reaction like that remotely possible?

With how surprised Drake was, he had forgotten about the charging blond freelancer. It was only because of the shout from Jaune's lips that Drake remembered he was in a fight. He found himself sweating when he found Jaune meeting him face to face before the blond's fist rammed into his face. His vision exploded with a white light.

Jaune gaped, his jaw dropping to the dirt floor as he watched Drake blown a few feet away by one of his punches like he was a cannonball. Alright, what the actual hell was that?! Since when could he punch like he was some junior superman!? Something like that would have been great to know when he was in high school. And why was he only now finding it out?

An odd throbbing sensation brought Jaune's attention to his punching arm. His eyes went wide at the alarming amount of white light engorging his hand to his bicep. That was new. Whatever the light was, it felt hot, extremely hot, almost like fire. Yet it felt oddly pleasant. And familiar? As strange as it was, seeing the light on his body felt like deja vu.

"W-Who. . .THE FUCK ARE YOU!?"

Jaune suddenly flinched as his body moved at the very last second, suffering a lacerating cut along his left cheek by the razor edge chain link passing him by. Luckily it wasn't infused with Lightning Dust but it still cut deeper than a normal edge should have. It was only as he watched Drake reel back his chains that Jaune noticed the ghostly emerald hues running along the new metal links. Like the other chains, it must have been infused with Dust, wind in this one's case. No wonder Drake had been able to inflict cuts on him even as the lizard faunus missed by a hair.

On shaking knees, Drake clicked his tongue as his new chains rewound to his gauntlet. He had lost his temper there to nearly cross a dangerous line. If Jaune hadn't had dodged so well, he was sure that his chain's tip would have stabbed into his skull. The realization only made his fury for Jaune grow in intensity with each passing second. The single punch from the blond had done some damage, the blow causing a visibly large bruise to grow over his face and even busted up his lip. Blood dripped slightly off the bandanna hiding his lower face.

"You're no normal human, so what the fuck are you?" Drake spat with a heavy breath. He had taken his fair share of punches before, but that was the first time a human had knocked him off his feet with such explosive force. Especially a brat like Jaune who didn't appear to be overly muscular.

Jaune gulped anxiously as he wiped the slightly gushing blood off his cut cheek, "I'm just as taken back as you are. I don't understand what's going on with me, but I don't actually care about that right now. I can freak out later. Right now though?" Jaune's gaze narrowed at the faunus thug, remembering the whole reason he was willing to even fight such a dangerous individual, "All I care about is May's safety. And you're going to tell me why someone like you is out searching for a little girl like her!"

Drake's right eye twitched before his face twisted into a furious snarl, "As if I would tell a human like you!" he roared as he charged after Jaune. Drake swung his left arm back, the chains releasing from his gauntlets twisting around his wrist to his bicep like coiling serpents to augment his strikes with wind Dust. He was no longer aiming to beat the human up, he was going to leave him breathing a mauled mess. A good example to show to those humans who dared to piss off a faunus!

Now knowing what Drake's blows could do, even at a distance, Jaune began to evade the cutting gusts assault with even more haste. He still wasn't sure what to do with the energy popping up on his body, so he was better off dodging for the moment. Jaune ducked under a wide swipe that ruffled his shirt with a few nicks. The movement made him fall onto the ground and he rolled out of the way of an uppercut slash that raked the dirt with a scar. He didn't get a breather, standing just in time to jump back from a jab that poked a hole in his shirt, and quickly fell into a mad sweat as he began to furiously dance around the wild, primal slashes from Drake's claws. It looked like the lizard faunus was seeing pure red at this point.

 _'Come on Jaune, think!'_ Evading a horizontal swipe that he was sure would have left a horrible scar on his chest, the down on his luck freelancer began to come up with a way to solve his current problem, _'I can't beat this guy in a fight, even with whatever is happening to my body. All it will take is one slip up, and he'll turn my body into a scratching post. And I can't run away now. This might be my only chance at discovering May's origins. Not to mention I can't let this thug and his goons sniff her out.'_

Jaune knew he wasn't much of a fighter. He had learned that the hard way as a kid. Even the little military training his father had given him when he had shown interest in following after him hadn't done much with how weak he had been. It was obvious that Drake wasn't just a reckless thug either. Jaune knew military training first hand and he could see it in Drake's movement. Even in the berserk state the green haired faunus was in, Jaune could see the alertness in the Chipped Fang leader's red eyes.

The wrench in Jaune's hand flew up in a sudden upward swing in between the wild slashes, aiming to strike Drake's chin. Quicker than Jaune had anticipated, Drake's hand blurred amid his barrage, slashing at Jaune's hand and throwing away his wrench. Red gushed from the four deep slashes on the back of Jaune's hand that stretched to his palm, forcing him to leap back with a sudden boost of strength to his legs. Just in time to evade Drake crossing his arms to slash the very spot he had stood with a visible X marker of gust.

Jaune forced back the cry on his lip, clutching the still gushing hand to his chest. His little test had proven correct, unfortunately. Even when pissed off and seemingly blinded by rage, Drake was still highly alert to everything. Which only meant he had to double down on his dodging or piss the lizard faunus off enough to make him sloppy.

"Come on, where are you?" Jaune whispered in pain to the white energy that coated his body. It had healed his wounds earlier. Why wasn't it doing its job again? Why the hell did it have to be so random?

Drake howled with laughter at the trail of blood following Jaune from his earlier leap.

"What, you got Frog faunus in ya or something? Maybe you're a half breed!? That must be it, right!?" Drake jeered as he dashed after Jaune with his claws aimed for Jaune's chest.

Jaune grit his teeth, moving to dodge as Drake came within arm's reach. He wouldn't get hit again!

But with an increase in speed, Drake twisted his body around, spinning his body on the tip of his feet to twirl around Jaune with his claws extended. The action caused Jaune to think twice from moving from the spot in fear of his back being shredded. The wind Dust did its job as Drake spun around Jaune, cutting into the freelancer without his claws ever grazing his skin. Several long stretching cuts marred Jaune's clothes and skin, bleeding out to stain his clothing. Stopping his spin, Drake stood in front of Jaune with his claws swung back, grinning savagely before striking his clawed palms straight into Jaune's chest with the crack of wind.

Jaune had thought fast despite the pain, throwing up his forearms before Drake had struck. White energy pulsed around his arms as the wind infused palms hit, creating a flash on contact. Jaune skidded back a few feet from the blow, panting with wide panicked eyes. What would have happened if that had connected? He could feel it, the crazy force that threatened to pierce right through his arms like a solid lance of metal if it weren't for the odd energy protecting him.

"How long are you going to play chicken and dodge?! HOW ABOUT YOU FUCKING FIGHT LIKE A REAL MAN ALREADY!"

Jaune cursed hoarsely as he suddenly rolled out of the way. From above, three of the dust infused chains had fallen like claws, raking the spot he had been like a massive beast's paw. It was then that he realized that Drake was done caring about fatally wounding him.

Drake chuckled at the fear in Jaune's eyes. He called back his chains with a grin hidden by his bandanna, "Don't look at me like that. It's obvious you can tank some of my deadlier attacks. I'm sure you would have survived like you did earlier. I'm simply testing just how resilient that annoying light makes you. What is it, aura?" Drake laughed ruefully.

Aura? Jaune paused with realization on his wide eyes. That weird energy Ren and Ruby had been talking about yesterday? Was that an actual thing?! He thought that was all fairy tales and make believe for kids!

 _'Aura... this is my...aura.'_ Jaune stared at his arms, now aglow with energy again healing the bloody bruise formed from Drake's claw thrust with awe. This was his Aura, his-

 _'Soul, unbound to defend against physical trauma. Capable of boosting your abilities to that of superhuman. And even grant you a gift like no other, my dear boy.'_

A faint memory arose. A memory of an eight-year-old Jaune standing in front of a tall man in a black overcoat with yellow linings, a tan face, and short black hair with slightly graying hair. The man's face was blurred for some odd reason. Something about the man felt warm, yet cold. The man looked down at Jaune, who was staring at his glowing white arms with childish wonder. A grin rose on the man's lips.

 _'This is your Soul, young Jaune. A weapon that will put you above all others. And soon, you will evolve it to grant you a miracle, one that will prove to all those who doubt you that you are indeed a warrior, a soldier! So-'_

The aging memory began to fade like an eroding photo print. Jaune found himself clenching his fists, his knuckles glowing with aura before he found his entire body glowing like a white beacon. He could hear the smirk in the man's voice as he faded away to the deepest recesses of his mind.

 _'Trust in your soul, and you shall never waver in your goals.'_

Drake scowled at the sight of the light over Jaune's body. Just what the hell was that? To his further annoyance, he could see the cuts and lacerations he had inflicted begin to slowly mend. What he was witnessing was borderline fantasy.

Jaune breathed deeply, crouching slightly. His mind went back to yesterday, when he had saved Bronz from the falling iron beams. He thought back to the feeling, the sensation, the need, that want, to move so fast he was a complete blur to others. The aura on his body died away. A new sensation coated him to focus on his legs. Instead of glowing, they shimmered with a white light like the ocean surface. He glared at Drake with bold blue eyes glowing with energy.

A rocket must have gone off in Drake's point of view because the next thing he knew, the dirt under Jaune's feet had erupted like a grenade had gone off, sending the blond flying at him at an inhuman speed. Drake moved quick and swung his arm up high. He spotted a beam above him from the incomplete structure around them, fired a chain up, and reeled the tangled steel to lift him up high.

Jaune's fist struck thin air with a gunfire like crack of force. A frustrated growl fell from his lips as he skidded on the dirt. If only he had hit, he was sure he could have taken him down. He looked up, spying Drake breathing heavily on the beam above him. How was he supposed to get up there? Jaune scratched his head, thinking back to what laid around him. He had worked on this site for a few days, he had a decent idea on the lay out. There had to be something. A quick search around the equipment busted up by the Chipped Fang's meddling, Jaune spotted a tied bundle of steel as tall as him with a gurney. He followed the wire rope up and grinned.

Struggling to steady himself on the metal beam of the unfinished building, Drake eyed Jaune wearily with sweat running down his face. Fast, incredibly fast. It was almost like he had been fighting a cheetah faunus for a split second. After witnessing that, Drake grew cautious of the blond human. It was obvious Jaune wasn't normal, the brat was more than meets the eye. If he hadn't evaded that last punch, Drake wasn't sure he would have gotten up. It was almost like a mini bomb of pure force was behind the last hit. Doubt crossed Drake's mind.

For a moment, Drake's anger diminished so he could think clearly. A lot of time had passed by since their fighting began. No doubt after all the commotion his Chipped Fang had caused, the police had caught on and moved out. They probably weren't too far off now. The smart thing to do would be to retreat before the authorities arrived. He could always gather his boys together and stalk the blond later. The kid knew about their target, which meant he was all that was stopping them from making the biggest check they had ever dreamed of. A petty grudge could be put aside for today until Drake had learned more about this Jaune brat. And when he had everything he needed to take him on again, he would leave the idiot with the rightful fear and respect he deserved.

Drake just needed to lose the human. It shouldn't be too difficult.

"Going up!"

Whatever plans Drake had come up with to ditch Jaune had withered away at the human's shout. The lizard faunus eyes snapped to the sound of a metal clink, finding a gurney close by that furiously pulled something up. A moment later, a large bundle of steel shot up with a certain blond riding atop with a grin on his face. The two's eyes met, one with surprise, the other determined.

"Wha-!"

Jaune didn't waste a second, springing off the side of the rushing steel to shoulder check Drake against his chest with a burst of speed. Drake's eyes bulged, feeling an unnatural amount of force ram into him like a small car. The blow sent him flying back, eventually smacking against a support beam with a hoarse gasp. His back ached as he grimaced with his arm clutched to his chest. For a second there, he was sure something had cracked.

Having gotten use to walking on the narrow beams that made up the construction projects all around them, Jaune glared dangerously at the groaning thug with a fist raised.

"Are you ready to start talking?! OR AM I GOING TO HAVE TO RESORT TO BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!?" Jaune roared in frustration amid his own heavy pants. He needed to keep goading Drake so he'd lose his temper more. Luckily for Jaune, just standing and fighting was more than enough to piss the faunus off.

That got the expected reaction out of Drake as he shakily faced off against the blond annoyance with a wild snarl, his eyes seeing completely red. Running away was no longer on his pissed off mind right now. That was thrown completely out the window the moment the human talked down to him.

"THE FUCK DO YOU THINK!? DO I LOOK LIKE I'LL EASILY TALK TO SOME HUMAN SCUM!? PISS OFFFFFFFF!" He howled furiously before swinging his right arm and left arm out in an open gesture, unleashing his chains to fly out like extending metal claws. He clapped his gauntlets together with a loud smack, lashing his chains to crush Jaune with a gust of wind tearing the air like a blade.

Jaune swung his forearms up, blocking the wide-reaching slash of chains. His aura could be heard audibly screeching while dampening the damage as best it could. A shimmer of white coated Jaune's forearms before he swung his arms back with monstrous force. And just like the lightning enhanced chains before, the wind Dust infused links were shattered into the wind.

Three gashes appeared on each of Jaune's arms, cutting deeply into his flesh like many times before. Unlike before though, his aura was struggling to mend the skin. Jaune had to blink the sudden fatigue away, feeling the toll of losing so much blood begin to reel in. It wasn't exactly healthy to be constantly bleeding in such an alarming amount. And it looked like his aura had its limits. He could feel it, it wasn't as strong as before. It was waning.

Drake's eyes were trembling with absolute rage. Again, his chains were broken with one hit. From a freelancer, an odd jobs idiot. His entire body was quivering. This... this human! Why, why wouldn't he just go down already?!

An inhuman roar erupted out of Drake's throat. His breath came out in rapid pants, his eyes wild like the animal all the humans called him under their breath in disgust. The gauntlets on his hands clicked, the revolvers holding his chains switching up to explosive Dust coating. Jaune flinched at the wild gaze, stepping back warily as Drake crouched.

Jumping up high into the air, Drake aimed both of his gauntlet's ports down below and fired. The explosive heads of his chains struck the beam they were using as a platform, erupting with enough force to break the steel. Jaune shouted in surprise before moving quickly to jump up high with a boost from the shimmer of light on his legs. He flew up, finding himself momentarily airborne. He watched Drake reel in his chains, fire one to reel him higher up while aiming his free hand to fire a detonating link straight at him.

 _'Just follow your instincts. Don't question the crazy things you're suddenly able to do! Don't question how impossible it is that you're capable of moving around like some professional athlete! Don't think, just act!'_ Jaune thought to himself with a set scowl. Questions could wait until he wasn't going to be killed by some crazy thug! He followed his instincts, the hard-wired muscles he didn't know he had, and flipped in the air. His feet touched the support beam behind him and used the support to leap off at a ninety-degree angle aimed toward the reeling up Drake. The chains missed him, snapping the beam on his side with an uproarious boom. The entire structure they were fighting in creaked, groaning as its skeleton weakened.

Drake's eyes were wide with loathing. He watched Jaune fly after him, unable to defend as one of his arms reeled up to another level and his explosive chains weren't reeling back fast enough. All he could do was watch the human flying at him. Jaune flew in with a shimmering fist planting itself in Drake's stomach, robbing the faunus of all his breath in a single blow that left him wheezing with a trickle of blood. An invisible force blew out his back.

Three times. That was three times the blond had punched him. Compared to the other punches, this was much stronger in impact. It left him stunned long enough for Jaune to grab hold of his legs and carry him up along with him. Reaching the new level, they found themselves jumping back from another onto wide platform of wooden boarding designed to be a floor. Drake fought the bile wishing to spill onto the floor. No, he would be damned if he gave that damn human such a pathetic sight! He broke off into a run, forgoing his chains for his fists to pummel the blond.

"YOU'RE REALLY STARTING TO GET ON MY NERVES!" Drake howled madly as he swung his clawed palms for Jaune's face.

Jaune swallowed back his anxiety. This was the moment he was waiting for! Having been dragged into sparring with Yang countless times in the past, he knew what to do when faced with a pissed off brawler. The anger was beginning to cloud Drake's rational thinking, making him sloppy. Without the fear of Drake's missed swings cutting him with wind, he stepped into the faunus guard while leaning his head to the side to avoid the strike. He clenched his fist with a pop and drove his fist deep into the same spot he had punched earlier, sans aura boost.

Spit mixed with vomit flew out of Drake's open mouth from the blow. But he refused to go down. With a mad snarl, he swung his fist into the side of Jaune's face before he could react. Jaune's head rang, swearing he could hear his skull crack. The two jumped a space back, both staggered and glaring at one another with gritted teeth. Ignoring their pain, they both charged each other and planted their fists into each other's face with enough force to blow their hair back. Pain went ignored as they began to pummel one another with their bare fists, the impact of knuckles meeting flesh echoing across the silent construction site. Jaune suffered an uppercut that would have broken his jaw if it weren't for his aura popping up. Drake's head was violently thrown to the side by a sloppy left hook that caused his left eye to swell. Jaune felt Drake twist his fist in his gut, swearing he could feel the metal gauntlet threaten to pierce his skin. Drake's nose was further broken by a straight punch to the face.

The senseless brawl came to an end as the two dropped their fists tiredly. They were bruised, bleeding, nearly dead on their feet. They were growing tired. So, they settled for using their heads to end the fighting. Literally. Jaune and Drake roared as they headbutted another viciously.

If Yang had seen Jaune now, she would have felt incredibly proud of her best friend.

Drake staggered back, blinking wearily as he tried to settle his swimming vision. His head was splitting. He nearly fell back then and there. He pushed on though, his glare still as strong despite how crappy he felt.

"Go down. Just go down already." Drake growled softly, panting tiredly as his bandanna came undone and fell to the wooden plank floor.

Jaune frowned tiredly, cleaning his lips off of blood from his busted lip. It almost sounded like Drake was pleading. He shook his head, frowning stubbornly.

"I can't. I may not know much about the girl, but I know enough to know that it's not safe for your kind to touch her!" Jaune argue adamantly.

Drake chuckled, "My kind? You mean a faunus?"

"No." Jaune said stubbornly, "As if something petty like that matters! This fight here has nothing to do with faunus! Someone like you, who's willing to hurt others for their own means, who believes that spreading fear will garner respect, I will never allow to touch my friend!" he shouted angrily.

"Well doesn't that make you out as a fucking hero?!" Drake spat to the side with disgust, "Just hand the girl over already! She doesn't even belong to you! She belongs to the people who hired me! She's nothing but a lost tool!"

"DON'T CALL HER A TOOL!" Jaune snapped, dashing over to Drake with his fist shimmering.

Taken back the burst of speed and action, Drake was forced to throw up his forearms to block. His eyes went wide as Jaune's fist met with his gauntlets and cracked them in one hit, disabling their functions. Even worse, he could feel the force enter his wrists. He heard a snap of bone. If he were a lesser man, he would have cried out in pain. He bit back the shout of agony as he was sent skidding back to the edge of the platform. With his wrists broken, his arms dangled by his sides uselessly as he panted heavily, sweat matting his once spiky green hair.

"G-God damn h-human!" Drake hissed venomously.

A visible static pulse coated Jaune's body as he held his left hand with a deep grimace. So, it seemed his aura was giving out. It was nearing its limit. That explained why one of his wrists snapped like a twig. Which meant he needed to finish this fast and get whatever answers he could.

"She's not a tool. She's just a little girl who was left out in the rain to die. Someone who's obviously been hurt by people, who's been used like some object! So, let me make this perfectly fucking clear to you bastards!" Jaune shouted loudly with his armed raised up with his fist clenched tightly. He felt his hand trembled, nearly bringing him to tears.

"AS LONG AS SHE STAYS WITH ME, NO ONE WILL EVER TOUCH A HAIR ON HER HEAD! THAT'S AN ARC'S PROMISE! ONE THAT WON'T BE BROKEN BY SOME PETTY THUG!"

Drake lost the last remnants of his patience. Another snap could be heard. The mission was forgotten as his body erupted with pure rage. Rationality was replaced with pure aggression.

"FUCK YOUR PROMISE AND JUST DIE!" A guttural roar ripped itself from Drake's throat as he forced his hands up. The firing chambers to his broken gauntlets whirred to life one last time. Aiming below his feet, the Chipped Fang leader maxed out the Dust output to blow up their only means of standing in a desperate gambit. An erupting cloud of flames and black smoke engulfed the two. The force was the last straw for the unfinished building's foundation. Along with the wooden boards breaking apart below their feet, the entire construction of beams began to fall apart around them.

Jaune lost his balance as the floor broke apart. He was falling down with the site itself. The wind whipped his hair around as he could do nothing but fall to his death. Fighting the bellowing force of his descent, he began to swing his head around for something to grab onto or kick off of. Something suddenly snaked around his waist, causing him to panic. The chain tightened itself Jaune's waist. He followed the link and cursed when he found the chain leading from the prosthetic tip of Drake's moss green tail. The lizard faunus' grin was bloody but victorious.

"You forced me to do this. If it's any worth to a human like you... I'm truly sorry." Drake spoke solemnly for what he was about to do. The human forced his hand. There was only one way this was going to end between them. Someone as stubborn as the blond wouldn't let up. Drake had seen his type before. And there was only one method to stopping them. In the end, he would just have to find the May girl another way.

With a 'chink', Drake's tail reeled Jaune in, wrapping his entire body in steel like a spider to its prey. Drake then spun his entire body around in mid-air, detaching the chain once Jaune was tightly wrapped before flipping his body over Jaune with his right leg raised up high. And with a ferocious roar, Drake dropped an ax kick with all of his might onto the quivering metal cocoon, sending it falling down to the bottom with a whistling streak.

An uproar of dirt bellowed up from the impact, growing to rise up to hit Drake in his descent. Around him, he made out the falling, snapped iron beams coming down onto them to create a coffin of metal. He was beaten up as it was, he had little doubt he would survive getting caught up in the crashing structure. Thinking fast, he commanded his tail to fire a spare link of chains to coil around a towering beam falling his way. He reeled himself close and spun, flinging himself out of harm's way with a tuck and roll. His body hit the dirt roughly as he rolled with a pained shout. Another injury to add to the list, a bruised rib. At least he had made it out of there when he did.

Drake gingerly stood up to watch the skeleton of what he believed to be part of a tower collapse in a pile of wreckage with a thundering explosive boom. A carpet of dirt rose to wash past him like a tidal wave, causing him to cough violently. He could hear a few creaks from the ruined structure before everything went quiet. Not a sound could be heard other than the city around them.

A guilty scowl marred Drake's beaten and bruised face. He looked down in shame, his fists trembling in both agony and regret.

"I didn't want to. Sienna... I didn't want this. I'm not a... a beast." he said mournfully with gritting teeth. He wasn't a killer, at least not intentionally. It was the stupid humans fault! He forced Drake's hand! If he had only given up the girl, he would still be alive. Beaten, broken, bloody, but alive!

What was done was done. It came to a conclusion he didn't wish, but it was what it was. And he had lost his only lead to May's whereabouts. He would simply have to spread out his boys to find the girl. He had a good idea of the city's nooks and crannies, plus his information network would sniff her out eventually. No one could hide forever.

With a hiss, Drake began to trudge his way out of the site. He needed to see a crooked doctor about his injuries before heading to work. Stopping suddenly a few steps away, he looked back to the grave he had created with the blond human buried within. An idiot the human may have been, but the Jaune kid had surprised him at every turn since he had first met him. It was almost too bad he had to die.

"For a human, you actually weren't too bad. A bit mouthy for my liking, but you definitely had strength. I'm sure Adam would have liked to meet you back in his younger days. You two would have had a lot to talk about with one another." Drake chuckled weakly. The blond reminded him a lot of a certain high ranked White Fang leader before the death of their old leader, Ghira Belladonna.

Drake had little love for the humans, but as a fighter, he knew when to pay his respects. Ignoring his broken wrists, he clapped his hands together in a solemn sign of respect and prayer. Maybe if more humans had been like this Jaune kid, then there would have been no need for all the pointless bloodshed and fighting.

"I... I should not be alive right now."

Drake's heart stopped. For once in a long time, he felt an emotion that had faded since learning how to fight and enlisting in the White Fang long ago. Fear. He couldn't help but dryly gulp when he noticed the wreckage quiver. Something was moving below, struggling to get out. And once again he found a hand streaked with blood, cuts, and bruises breaking out of the twisted hill of metal.

Pushing off the many beams trapping him, Jaune crawled out of his coffin gasping for air. His shirt was now in blood dried tatters, his jeans were ripped with new holes not part of design and he was covered with fresh new wounds. His thoughts were jarred, his injuries making it hard to focus on what was going on. All he really knew was that he was alive. Somehow. In the final moments that should have been his last, Jaune recalled everything being white from the impact. His back should have been broken, but if anything, it looked to be sprained. The chains trapping him had been broken, leaving him lying in wait for the broken, splintered, metal to either crush or run him through. Weakly throwing his arms up in vain, his aura suddenly jumped out of his skin and formed a dome.

But Jaune's aura had been dwindling, leaving him protected for only a minute. The energy shield had shattered, leaving him defenseless and at the mercy of the several tons of metal. Luckily for him, several of the beams had bashed into each other, tangling up enough to protect him from suffering anything fatal. He was wounded heavily, but at least he was breathing.

It didn't look like his sudden power ups would be coming in handy anytime soon though. His aura appeared to be the cause for his boosts and his high-speed regeneration. Using his boosts sacrificed an unknown amount of his aura, every hit that was weakened by the shield on his body also drained him, and the special amplifications to his speed and hits cost him a chunk as well. He could feel it now, the loss of the warm energy once flowing from his body. He was auraless. No more miracles.

With difficultly, Jaune moved out of the wreckage, nearly tripping as his feet touched the ground. He gripped his broken wrist with a pained scowl, knowing he wouldn't be able to do much as he was. His aura was the only reason he had been able to keep up with Drake and actually fight. What was he going to do now?

Jaune stubbornly shook his head with a grimace. No, that didn't matter. Even if he was completely broken, he would have to continue. For May's safety. Looking back to Drake, it looked like the faunus thug wasn't any better off than himself. They were both at the end of their ropes. One of them had to be close to cracking to the others will. And Jaune didn't just survive a literal building falling onto him to just give May up.

He raised his battered broken fists up with a determined scowl. His posture was weak and slouched, his feet wobbled, he was pretty sure he was seeing three Drake's dancing around his vision, and the taste of iron on his lips was becoming foul and distracting. Still he forced himself to push on.

"W-What? D-Don't tell me you're t-tired already?" Jaune struggled to speak, taking one step forward. One step became two, then three, until he was sluggishly walking forward.

Drake's body trembled, his eyes twitching madly in disbelief. He stared at the impossible sight of the human coming at him with fists still up to fight. Jaune was worse off than himself, a broken human panting like a dog in the desert dunes. He shouldn't even be breathing, let alone walking! It was a sight that stunned him and terrified him all the same. This kid wasn't human, he wasn't faunus, he was something else entirely.

And those blue eyes. They were still so resilient and determined, full of fire ready to devour him whole. Drake actually found himself stepping back out of fear as Jaune's strides grew stronger until he was running with the blond's eyes narrowing dangerously. Drake's imagination must have been messing with him, fear tended to do that to a person. It was the only explanation for what he was seeing as Jaune came within arm's length.

Behind Jaune's form, Drake made out the towering aura of a being armed to the teeth with various weapons, and a terrifying intent stare that shook him to his core. A memory of long ago was uprooted at that moment, of the stories of great warriors who hunted their prey with such tenacity there was only one word to call them. That great being of aura's eyes slanted, glowing with reflecting fires in the human's blue yes before roaring.

 _'Huntsman!'_

"ARE YOU READY TO TALK?! OR AM I GOING TO HAVE TO GET SERIOUS!?" Jaune roared as he swung his beaten fist.

It was a lie, but it worked its magic, freezing Drake up in the moment. His thoughts were already in shambles, his fear failing to make him realize how impossible it was for there to be more with how damaged Jaune was, and yet he couldn't see through the lie. He couldn't move an inch, too struck with overwhelming shock before Jaune's auraless fist made contact with his face.

A lesson from long ago returned to Jaune as he swung. A grinning purple eyed girl with golden locks came to mind as he dug in his right foot, twisted his waist, and threw in his back with one final roar on his bloody lips. His fist struck with an echoing boom despite losing his ability to amplify his strength, causing Drake's eyes to bulge and turn white. It was almost comical. Jaune could hear another snap of his bones from the shock traveling up his arm, bringing a whimper that he swallowed with a snarl.

Drake was flung onto his back with enough force to kick up a cloud of twisting dirt around the two as the fight finally came to an end. The ground beneath his back actually cracked into a web of fractures. His breathing was ragged, struggling to properly get a decent amount of air in. The bruised rib from earlier was making it harder on him to make an attempt to get up. Which was pointless now. His body was refusing to listen to his struggles. His fingers were wildly twitching, unable to respond to his commands like the rest of his body. He was far too wounded to continue. The damn human brat had done it.

He beat him.

A weak, wheezed chuckle escaped his lips when Jaune picked him up by the neck of shirt. He was dangling in the human's grip, helpless. How the tables had turned.

"W-What now, tough g-guy?" Drake rasped.

Jaune glared at the beaten thug, "Now, you tell me who the hell is after May. And what the hell they plan on doing with her!"

It was answer time. Surely even Drake didn't have it in him to keep fighting. Hopefully he didn't, Jaune wasn't sure he would be able to do anything more than threaten him. Even now it was taking everything he had to stand tall. His grip on Drake was beginning to slip.

Drake remained silent in Jaune's hold. He was caught. He couldn't even lift his fingers to give the human the bird. Every second he was fighting with staying awake and succumbing to his injuries. What had been a pretty standard routine threatening had ended in disaster. Luckily his boys had left, leaving only himself and his knocked out right hand, Croc. No one would know about what just went down other than himself and Jaune.

He wasn't loyal to anyone other than his brothers. The humans he worked for didn't mean a damn thing to him. He wasn't willing to be broken any further for a shady organization he knew literally nothing about. Plus, that slutty purple haired bitch annoyed him. He didn't even know anything, not even the name of the group who hired him. What would it do if he threw the human a bone to nibble?

"You know you've wasted your time, right?" Drake smirked tiredly, causing Jaune's eyes to widen, "Because I don't even know the name of the organization or group who hired me to do their dirty work, let alone why the hell they're trying to find her. But I will tell you this, just by meeting one of them, I could tell that they're not the sort to mess with. You think I'm bad? You should have felt the intent from the woman alone, enough to make you fall on your knees in a cold sweat." he suddenly coughed, feeling his rib tickle his lung. He was pretty sure it was broken after that last punch.

Jaune's shoulders slumped in despair. Really? After all that, he had nothing to go on? He nearly died twice for nothing? His eyes did widen a second later. Wait, woman? Jaune grew curious at the mention of a woman. Maybe he could get something out of all this. What he would do with the knowledge, he didn't know. But at least he would know something about May. And that was better than the nothing he had.

"What woman? Who is she? And did she tell you anything important?" Jaune asked urgently.

Drake scowled distastefully. He was no snitch, but it was better than risking his health. Besides it wasn't a problem with him seeing as he had no allegiance to the damn whore.

"You really want to know? That girl... she must really mean a lot to you, huh?"

Jaune's grip tightened as he nodded firmly. It actually put a small smile to Drake's face. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, opening his mouth to speak.

"I don't know anything about the chick who hired me, but I do know that her n-"

"Oh, naughty boy~! Seems your lips are a lot looser than I had believed."

Something whistled across the site along with the teasing feminine voice entering both men's ears. Drake went on edge, recognizing the voice before his eyes went completely white. A silent scream came from his lips as he felt something accurately strike his broken rib. Whatever hit didn't pierce him, but the force was enough push his broken rib to pierce his lung, rupturing the organ. The pain was so intense he passed out on the spot, his body dangled like a puppet with its strings snipped off.

A rubber pellet rolled along to tap Jaune's feet. He stared at Drake's unresponsive form with disbelief and stunned silence. What had just happened?

Hot, moist breath washed over Jaune's neck as he suddenly felt a very curvaceous body hug him from behind. His grip on Drake fell, leaving the faunus thug to fall back to the ground with a thump. He gulped anxiously over the husky giggle on his ear. Whoever was behind him was crossing some risky territory. Was that a tongue on his ear!?

"I must say, I'm jealous of little May 12th. She has such a strapping young man protecting her from dirty animals twenty-four seven. Ah, my body's just trembling at all the fun we could have if you were to become my guardian~! We could always drop all this nasty business and have clean old roleplaying fun!"

Jaune grit his teeth, feeling the stranger tighten their hold of him uncomfortably. Their body was quivering as their hands roamed his upper body without any shame. Nails raked his bruised and bloody chest with hunger.

 _'Wait, May 12th? Does she mean May?'_

"Who are you?!" Jaune croaked out, feeling the stranger's bear hug grow only tighter.

Grape purple locks dangled in front of Jaune's face. He could feel the stranger's face press against his cheek, rubbing together affectionately. Whoever this person was obviously didn't understand what personal space meant. Being so close, he could finally make out the face of his attacker. A beautiful woman with a clear complexion and a beauty mark smiled at him, her deep purple eyes winking at his blue.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say, handsome. Not unless you want to cry it out in climax." she said hotly. Her smiled turned vicious, terrifying Jaune to the blond as he felt an overwhelming intent flow over him.

It was unlike Drake. It was murderous and overpowering.

"Ugh~! How I wished this was pleasurable business. But I do have a job to do. So~, how about you tell this sexy fine thing where my little May is? Then maybe I won't have to get wet with your blood. I'd prefer another wetness with you and another liquid over my face instead of red." she purred dangerously.

Jaune grunted at the feeling of the beautiful woman pecking his neck with kisses. How the hell could she be acting like this when she was threatening to kill him!? The woman was a sadist! But at least he now knew who was after May. Which meant if he took this woman out, then they would stop coming after her. Right?

A bladed edge came in contact of Jaune's jugular, warning him he didn't have long to respond. His Adam's apple pressed against the blade as he gulped.

"Why do you want May? Just who the hell are you people!?" Jaune grunted.

July hummed in disappointment. She knew that tone all too well. He did appear to be the stubborn sort. Normally that would have her gleefully grinning, but she had important matters to deal with. She had made out the sirens coming closer to the construction site. She'd say it would be a good five minutes before they arrived. Which sadly didn't leave her much time for her fun. She couldn't help but whine, her thin, deadly silver knife lightly cutting against the skin of Jaune's neck.

"You won't cooperate with me, will you? Not even if I were to make myself yours for as long as you'd like, to do whatever demented, depraved, act you'd fantasize with my body? Oh, you hero types can be so frustrating, and ever so tempting." July bit her lip to stop herself from giving into her primal wishes. The knife slipped away, allowing Jaune to breath safely before he found himself roughly thrown back to the ground. He gasped, his back shooting with pain. It looked like his back had been injured, preventing him from moving. Another gasp was pushed out of him as he found July plop herself down onto his waist with an alluring gaze. She rolled her tongue over her glossy lip with an oddly smelling green lipstick in her hand.

"Fine, I'll just have to bring you back with me and have you spill the beans. Among other things." she giggled, drawing closer to Jaune's face with puckered lips, "After I'm done with you, you won't have any reason to say no to anything I wish. I do need a new toy to bring back with me anyway. Let's hope you can endure more than this."

No amount of struggling on Jaune's part could shake the woman off. If anything, it only made her moan sensually and grind against his tattered crotch. If only his aura was still up! He couldn't let this woman take him away! May needed him, he couldn't disappear. He couldn't abandon her! He couldn't-

Plump, smooth wet lips met Jaune's cracked and dry iron tasting lips. In the moments before whatever drug was coated on July's lips knocked him out, he could taste apples so sweet yet so sour. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as her tongue entered the fray, exploring the deepest cavities of his mouth with moans of pleasure.

'God...damn it.'

July flung her head back with a pleased gasp, grinning toothily. The blond boy had succumbed to her special blend of sleeping toxins just fine. Now all she needed to do was take her man meat back with her and have some fun. A little torture, fore play, some drugs, and he would be all hers. She always did have a thing for blonds.

Picking Jaune up, she hugged him close for her breasts to rub against him. Too bad he was out. He would have loved to feel them, she was sure. She couldn't help but grow giddy in excitement with all the plans she had in mind.

 _'Note to self, buy plenty of whips and honey!'_

July was ready to leave with her new toy. Than something unexpected happened the moment she took a single step.

An odd sound grew behind July, a whirl of energy and the sound of a drawing blade she was all too familiar with in her line of work. A presence more overpowering than her own killing intent crashed over her with enough force to bring her to a cold sweat. A shiver of pure fear ran down her spine like a tingle of death tapping her neck.

She was too afraid to move or even breath as the murderous stranger spoke with a chilling tone.

"Release him. Now."

A red blur flashed for July's neck, nicking a few of her long flowing locks as she dodged. Her grip on Jaune was lost, throwing him aside to focus on evading the sword swing from the red odachi edge honed on chopping her head off. She began to dance around the barrage of precise sword swings with difficulty. Her heart pounded against her chest, moving to the right just in time to avoid a thrust aimed to run through her cleanly. The odachi blade flipped over, its edge facing right and swung to bisect her.

A red, cleanly sliced line scarred July's waist, right above her belly button. In that moment, she knew. There was no fighting whoever was attacking her. Again, the edge of the blade flipped, moving for an upward slash that lacerated her left shoulder.

"RETREAT! PROTOCOL RISING SMOKE, ACTIVATE!" she yelled desperately.

From corners unknown, several bullets struck the ground around July and her attacker. The bullets hissed, releasing a carpet of white smoke that rose to blanket everything in a cloud of white. Several figures jumped into the smoke, grabbing a hold of July as the red odachi blade was sheathed. A revolver clicked, the odachi blade unsheathed with an emerald blade.

Before July made her exit along her followers, she made out the face of her attacker. And it chilled her to the bone.

A bone mask with red tribal marking, designed after a raven, glared at her with pure hatred.

The attacker did not follow the retreating woman. She made no move to track them down and make them pay for what they'd done. Instead, she swung her wind Dust odachi, clearing the smoke with a tremendous gust of wind hued with emerald. No, instead she craned her neck to gaze at the horribly beaten blond on the ground. Her red eyes grew concerned at all the dried splatters of red on his torn clothing, the deep hues of green, blue, black, and purple marring his skin, and the unnatural angle one of his hands were in. She knelt down, caressing his dirty cheek tenderly with a soft sigh.

"Jaune, just what have you gotten yourself into? You're an utter mess."

Slipping off the tribal mask, Raven Branwen smiled sadly at Jaune's form. She was still dressed in her business suit, seeming to have been working just moments ago.

The sounds of sirens and a stampede of urgent footsteps reminded Raven she had to move. Picking Jaune up into her arms, she rose her odachi up in the air and carved a line into the airspace before her. A bloody red line formed, spreading open to create a swirling gate of red and black that she quickly stepped into.

Within moments, several uniformed officers ran into the scene. All around them they noted the broken equipment, the passed out and tied workers, and the two faunus thugs knocked out. They quickly moved to check for any fatal injuries among all those involved in the incident, noting the only severe injuries involved the beaten rat faunus and to their shock, the leader of the local faunus gang, Drake Scales. The leader of the gang had numerous injuries, the worst being the broken wrist on each hand, and the broken rip and ruptured lung. It was lucky they had arrived in time, or the faunus wouldn't have survived.

Questions filled the air on what exactly happened among the law officers. Unfortunately for the authorities, no one who had been involved were awake to say a thing. They would have to wait until everyone was treated before any more action could be made.

It was too bad there weren't any security cameras set about. It would have made things easier. But then again, they would all been left speechless at everything that would have been caught.

* * *

 **Odd Job #2: In Search of a Study Partner.**

It was Jaune's first year in Beacon Academy, the school for the brightest and the most talented. And he was in the middle of a dilemma. One that would threaten to destroy him entirely. It was that serious.

 _'I need a study partner.'_

Dressed in the standard Beacon blazer that many of the students walking past him wore, Jaune trudged his way across the famous halls with a doomed stricken expression on his face. A few of the students passing by could swear they could see what looked like the blond's spirit trickle out of his groaning lips. Though it wasn't that odd to see Jaune in such a state. Since the beginning of the year, it hadn't been too uncommon to see the blond boy walk around like a man awaiting his execution.

This time was different though. Jaune knew it. See, the thing was that Jaune wasn't exactly your average student. Compared to the rest, you could say his transcripts were a little. . .false. Embellishing. Sprinkled with little white lies. It was fake, is what he was trying to say. The classes he was taking were far above an average military brat like himself. He was lucky to be getting by with hard D's as it is.

And that was the problem. He couldn't be skimming by with hardly passing forever. The second semester was coming to an end and he had gotten a letter from the headmistress, Glynda Goodwitch, that she expected to see some improvement. Or else. He didn't know what was worse, being expelled for being a failure, or cheating his way in. Neither option sounded pleasant this far.

Jaune sighed deeply. Why did he think it was a good idea to sneak his way into such a prestigious school? Oh, right, he almost forgot. It was the only way he could escape another move. His family had been staying in Vale a good year before his freshman year began when his father was abruptly moved to another military base in Atlas. Jaune wasn't a fan of Atlas and its freezing weather, not to mention all the uptight people he met in the cities close by the bases. Having wanting to actually stick in one place for more than a year or two, and growing to like Vale compared to the other cities, he had planned out a way to stay. If he had been accepted into a normal school, their was no reason to have to stay. But a school like Beacon was an honor, a privilege! As if his parents would just uproot him and miss out on such a chance to better himself.

It was times like this that Jaune wondered how he had actually cheated his way into Beacon Academy of all places. The fake transcripts he got from that gray haired old man were better than he thought.

Scratching his chin, Jaune began to ponder his next course of action. He needed to pass his next classes with at least a C average, hoping for a B would be too much for a simple minded guy like him. Which meant he needed to look for someone to help him study. If he studied by himself, he'd waste most of his time distracted with comics and video games. Just like the many other times he had tried.

 _'Asking Yang to help is a no. She may be my best friend, but she isn't exactly the best study partner. Sad that she rather have fun than bother studying things she already knows.'_ Jaune frowned as he went over his list of friends that could help him. That list pretty much stopped with Yang. He hadn't made any friends other than the blond bombshell since he was accepted into Beacon. And they had been friends before Beacon, but that was a story for another day.

'Their is that nice girl, Pyrrha, I met last week. But I'm not sure a celebrity like her would want to study with a guy like me. Plus she's really shy whenever I talk to her. Weird.'

Unknown to Jaune, a certain red headed school idol began to smack her head continuously into her locker with tears streaming down her face, forever cursing her popularity.

Jaune's list of options had hit a dead end. From the looks of it, he was just going to have to beg Yang to help him study seriously. Which would be hard with the blond brawler always finding an excuse not to be home. Things between her and her mother, Raven, hadn't improved since Jaune had moved in. Not a bit.

 _'I should have thought twice about moving into a such a dysfunctional home. A mother and daughter who hardly ever talk other than single answers, grunts, and sighs isn't exactly comforting. It gets even more awkward when I'm left alone with Raven.'_ The ebony haired woman wasn't exactly friendly. She put up with him as more of a favor to her daughter than anything else.

Caught up in his own problems, Jaune was unaware of all the students in the hall moving away from him in haste. Well, not him. But the madly laughing girl running straight ahead.

"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, RE-!"

A loud girly shriek was heard along with the sounds of a two bodies hitting the floor.

". . .Did you scream like a girl just now?"

Embarrassment colored Jaune's red face as he laid on the floor. He wasn't sure what just happened, only that he had hit the floor thanks to the petite body that had rammed into him like a rocket. Looking down at his chest, he made out short orange hair before his blush grew stronger.

Breasts, he could feel soft, firm breasts squeezing against his chest.

Green eyes snapped up to meet Jaune's blue, their owner's grinning widely.

"Sup, girly boy number two! My name's Nora, and thank you for acting as my cushy blockade! Don't need old Renny scolding me for a busted lip or scrapped knee again." Nora snickered.

"Please, get off." Jaune whimpered as he felt Nora press down onto his chest. Someone was an early bloomer.

Nora pouted at the blond noodle cushion. She didn't make a move to move, deciding to lay down on him and kick her feet up casually. She narrowed her eyes, inspecting the familiar face she swore she'd seen before.

"Wait! Aren't you Jaune? We take Environmental Studies together! You got sent to the nurse's office like the second day there. You're face turned all puffy and red when you were handling the tree sap from Forever Fall." Nora remembered that day perfectly. It was the first time she had seen a person's face resemble a balloon.

Jaune groaned, his head hitting the floor dejectedly. Just one of the many times he had embarrassed himself in front of the student body. The first time was when he arrived to Beacon docks and thrown up in the nearest trash can.

"Nora! What did I say about rushing through the halls? You could hurt yourself, or someone."

Running footsteps grew closer to Jaune before stopping in front of him. Curious to the new stranger, he craned his head up to find a lean teen with raven haired that reached his waist in a ponytail, and pink eyes. He looked to be of Anima descent. If Jaune had one word to describe the guy, it would be calm.

Flipping over to lay on her back, earning a grunt from Jaune below her, Nora grinned at the eastern teen.

"Hiya, Renny! Have you meet Jaune yet? You know, the guy who serenaded that crabby SDC heiress that one time?"

"I'd rather you mention when my face turned into a balloon!"

'Renny' quirked his brow down at Jaune with mild interest. It was surprising to see someone not run off after Nora had crashed into them. Her bubbly and explosive personality was usually too much for a normal person to handle. Even more so that the blond hadn't made a move to kick Nora off of him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jaune. I believe you've already met my sister over here." 'Renny' motioned to Nora. Said girl leaned her head back to give Jaune a wide smile.

Jaune blinked, face moving back and forth between the two.

"Sister?"

"Adoptive, but family none the less."the cool faced teen explained, "I apologize for her rather. . .eccentric behavior. She doesn't mean any harm, she's just overflowing with sugar." he said tiredly.

Jaune chuckled, feeling the orange haired girl hum joyfully to agree with her adoptive brother. He was reminded of one of his sisters.

"It's alright. I'm use to this from my family. My youngest sister has a habit of glomping me at eye contact. This ain't too different." Jaune said smiled, giving Nora a pat on her head like he did with his sister.

Nora threw her hands up with a grin at the contact, "I like him! Can we keep him, Renny?" she begged with puppy eyes.

'Renny' seemed hesitant. Not at the thought of keeping Jaune as a pet, but at something else. The raven haired boy's flicked away, his shoulders suddenly tense.

"I'm not sure. You know how some people are when they realize who I am."

That caught Jaune's curiosity. What did the guy mean who he was? Don't tell him it was another name thing? As someone who was constantly moving around Remnant, he wasn't too up to date on such things. He was just now learning how important the SDC brand was, to everyone's amazement.

Gently moving Nora off of him, to her groaning displeasure, Jaune stood up to greet the stranger. Upon closer look, he actually recognized him from a few of his classes like Nora.

"Well, how about we introduce ourselves? Name's Jaune, Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue! Ladies love it." Jaune grinned with a wink and his hand extended for a shake.

Nora giggled beside 'Renny' at the blond's introduction. It brought a slight smile to the raven's face. He was hesitant to introduce himself, especially at noticing the blond was rather friendly. He sighed to himself, deciding to just get it over with. Jaune probably already heard his name before in class and forgotten it. Might as well remind him of why some of the students stayed clear of him.

"It's nice to meet you, Jaune. My name is Ren. . .Lie Ren. Of Lie Pharmaceuticals." Ren introduced with a hint of shame in his voice. And regret.

The second Ren had brought up his last name, Jaune had frozen in place. Ren shut his eyes, having seen the outcome coming. It was too bad, he actually liked the blond. It would have been nice to have made an honest friend. Turning away from the shocked blond, Ren motioned for Nora to follow behind him as they left. He didn't need to open his eyes to see the disappointment on his adoptive sister's face.

A few moments later down the hall, he was stopped by a shout.

"WAIT! PLEASE, WAIT!"

Ren spun around, surprised and curious as he found Jaune panting tiredly with an urgent expression. The blond gulped dryly, staring at Ren oddly. It made Ren frown.

"You said Lie, right?" Jaune asked with a pant.

Ren scowled mildly, but nodded. He was taken back as Jaune smiled happily.

"Then, you know Lee Lie, right?!"

". . .My father?"

The name of Ren's father surprised him. He was taken further back when Jaune suddenly bowed to him An Anima custom.

"Thank you! If it wasn't for your father, I wouldn't be here right now!" Jaune shouted gratefully.

Both Ren and Nora were surprised to hear the thanks regarding their father. Seeing their confusion, Jaune happily explained. He moved the hair on the back of his head back carefully, revealing to the odd siblings faded scars hidden by blond locks.

"See, when I was ten years old, I apparently suffered a horrible head injury around the back of my skull. I say apparently because I don't actually remember much about the accident. I suffered some memory loss, but not enough to worry about in my opinion. I was living in Mistral when it happened and your father was the doctor who operated on me in that time. They say if it wasn't for his expertise. . .I wouldn't even be capable of reading, let alone speaking clearly." Jaune smiled somberly as he covered the scar back up.

Ren blinked, not sure of what to say. This was rather new. It had been a long time since someone had spoken of his father with such gratefulness. Not since the unpleasantness that had occurred two years ago.

"So, you don't think anything of the Lie name other than that?" Ren clarified with a frown, "What about the shaddy deals, the expired medications, the false documentations, the White Lily Incidents?"

Jaune did frown at the mentions of those but shook his head stubbornly.

"You mean the case involving all those sleeping patients that died under Lie medications and care? I don't believe them. I may have only met Mr. Lie once, but I know that a man as kind and caring as him would never do such a thing!" Jaune argued strongly.

Ren wasn't a vocal person, so it wasn't rare for him to be silent. But this time, it was due to being stunned by another person that wasn't Nora. The same could be said for Nora, the energetic girl growing silent with wide eyes.

Jaune stepped closer to the Lie siblings, his grin back up as he extended his hand one last time. He didn't believe the rumors hovering around the Lie name. And if he did, that had nothing to do with the two in front of him. People shouldn't be judged on their names. Actions spoke louder than blood.

"Besides, you seem like a nice guy! Your name shouldn't have nothing to do with that. To me, you're just Ren."

Getting over his shock, Ren looked down to the hand. He didn't show it, but he was relieved. Happy. He took a hold of Jaune's, gripping it with a small honest smile on his face.

"I, uh, thank you, Jaune. Really. It's nice to meet someone who doesn't look at me with some disdain or skepticism." he said softly.

Nora could only contain her joy and excitement for so long. In which case was barely a minute. Jumping up with joy, the bubbly girl wrapped her strong arms around both Jaune and Ren with a giddy grin on her face.

"YAY! We got ourselves a new friend! Pancakes all around, your queen demands it to welcome her newest follower!" she cheered loudly.

Jaune was stumped at what he heard. He looked to Ren with a look of concern on his face, "Queen? New follower? . . .Pancakes?"

Ren sighted tiredly. It was official. Jaune was now forever stuck with them for the foreseeable future. At least until graduation. And maybe years after.

"Just go with it. You'll get use to it eventually. I did. Quick question though, do you like sloths?" Ren asked with a yawn.

Jaune blinked, "Sloths?"

A dramatic gasp could be heard from Nora. A light bulb had grew overhead.

"I just had an idea for our next Halloween custom this year. I wonder if we can three sloth suits on such short notice. They must be in short supply by now." Already planning out on searching her scroll online for the costumes, Nora was stopped by the rumbling of her stomach. Well, now was as good as time for lunch as any. With an excited smile, she began to drag the two boys with her to the lunchroom. More than happy with the extras weight struggling in vain against her grip.

"Time for lunch boys! We got things to discuss, and sweets to devour!"

Jaune gave up on escaping Nora's grip quickly, giving in to his new fate. It was looking like he was going to have to get use to this. Glancing back at his fellow captive, Jaune thought back to his earlier dilemma. What could it hurt to ask?

"Hey, Ren? You wouldn't happen to be really smart, would you?" he asked bluntly.

Ren quirked a brow at the odd question, "I suppose? My test scores in all my subjects are nearly perfect. I still have much to learn though like many others around me." he shrugged.

That was more than enough for Jaune. With an embarrassed chuckle, Jaune had to ask.

"Well, you wouldn't mind helping me with a few studies, would you? I'm sorta on the verge of flunking a class or two. Possibly three. I could really use a study partner to go over some lessons."

Ren smiled. As the door to the cafeteria in front of them was kicked open by Nora, he nodded.

"I wouldn't mind at all."

* * *

 _ **At long last, your soul is free again. Your determination has broken those old forgotten shackles to grant you a miracle. Your Aura is yours, never forget that.**_

 _ **Just who whispers to you, granting you your soul? All memories fade, but one resists to give you courage.**_

 _ **Now, the real fight begins. Embrace your memories. The good. And the bad.**_

 **There we go! I admit, it was a combat heavy chapter, but I liked it. The first real fight for whats to come. From here on out, the rails are sparking. Just how will our freelancer handle the new threat to come? At least he has his aura, that's something. We'll have to see what's in store next time. Lucky bastard, taking away by a sexy, sexy, raven.**

 **My wrists are sore, so I'll have to see ya'll later. I need rest, maybe some lemonade mixed with booze, and rest before I get back to work tomorrow. Job first, than fiction.**

 **Remember to read and review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	6. In Your Hands

**Man! What's it been this time? Three? Four? I kinda forgot how long it's been since I last updated any of my stories. At this point I wonder if I still have any fans. All I can say to my lack of updates is my bad?**

 **To make a long story short, I've been crazy busy with my real job which involves me working a good 9 to sometimes 12 hours a day for 5-6 days straight. Add in my responsibilities at home, nearly losing the house due to the rental property screwing up some renewal, and you could kinda understand why I haven't had time to write. At all. I was too tired to even crack open my laptop then.**

 **But! As of last month, I found myself with more time to myself. Still dealing with crap as always, but I've been able to make some time to actually get back to writing! So, with the two months I got to writing and now have an update to A Jaune of All Trades. So, let's get to it already!**

 **.1: Yup, someone did indeed. Who that is, is a secret. Though I'm sure someone can figure it out with what clues I leave behind. As for Pyrrha, I got here in here. She'll show up soon enough, don't you worry.**

 **Ghost Angel 14: I've already got like four chapter of the RWBY/Kingdom Hearts crossover done with. I plan to release that after I've finished playing KH3 myself but will continue to work on it on my spare time. I got a new thing of releasing stories only when I have about five chapter completed now. Ah, E3. Funny talking about it when it was months ago. And I understand. DOA is still a good fighting game, but I was in it for the jiggle. I don't judge as long as you don't judge, my friend. And guilty for the BHA reference in the final punch. I had to!**

 **Benthino: It's already ready, but waiting until I get my hands on KH3 before releasing. Just in case it could help to add in a few more things to make it more complete. Don't worry, the wait will be over soon enough.**

 **AZalmega: Ah, I understand your thoughts on the fight scene just perfectly fine. I always like hearing from you and your analysis. It was epic, not legendary. That was the intention. This is Jaune's first real fight with the discovery of his aura at hand. It was pure raw action. I would have felt that making the fight more impressive and crazy as it already was would have been a bit too much this early. The fight was good and that's what I wanted it as. Trust me, things will get a lot more epic down the road we're on. Plus Jaune's not really a trained fighter, he was just relying on some instincts he had hard wired without his knowledge. Now for Raven, we'll see what we learn in this chapter. It's more of an aftermath really but I like it none the less. For reason.**

 **Ultimate Pervy Sage: Really? Well that's good to hear. I plan to have more omakes like that every once in a while to fill in the blanks of Jaune's high school life before he became a freelance worker. Nice to know that something so simple was enjoyable.**

 **Lordrednight: Glad that you liked the fight scene. Those are always my favorite to write down as I am an action man. The introduction of Jaune's aura will only lead to even more great scenes down the line.**

 **AlmostNeet: Yup, pretty much! Everything starts off normal and than shit hits the fan. The normal life Jaune's begun to settle himself in is about to be turned topsy turvy! Ozpin? Nope. Good guess, but it's someone else. And yes, you can never have enough amnesia! Not in anime!**

 **Googlemo: It's called build up. I wanted everything to come up to lead to the everyday life being thrown apart by the new conflict that would change Jaune's life down a new road. I am a man who loves action and I would love to have it in every chapter, but if it doesn't call for it, I won't just throw it in. Ya gotta balance that stuff out and in. As for Jaune's predicament with woman, especially woman, there's a reason. One, Raven is Yang's mother, his best friend's mother and aunt. As sexy as she is, that's basically throwing yourself into a landmine in your face. Plus he does have thoughts of giving in and would if it wasn't for her being Yang's mom. And another reason that I can't say just yet.**

 **DragonManMax: You understand the pain of losing a loving keyboard! I miss her so much. Sadly she had to retire. But I got a new one. And works damn fine. We also got more Raven in this chapter. And another sweet mother to balance her out. E3, man that was five months ago! I'm late.**

 **Okay, reviews out of the way! What day is it again on my side of the world? Right, Christmas fucking day! Hope you enjoy the present I have for you. Even if a few of you have acted naughty through out the year. It's alright, I am the same!**

 **So, let's open up the old wrapper and get to scrolling.**

* * *

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to RWBY, they belong to Rooster Teeth. Hell, with my busy schedule I can't even churn out a lousy thousand words. Work can be so draining. And all I want is to write fiction and met a nice girl! I can't even do one of those right now! I swear I'm ready to say screw it and go out into the bars._**

 ** _Knowing my luck, it would end with me waking up in a bathroom with a missing kidney. But at least I would have met a girl. And I'm beginning to suspect I'm a masochist anyways. And I only need one kidney. I think._**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: In Your Hands.**

May was in what you would call a pickle right now.

The young rust haired girl was currently standing behind the register to Jaune's little run down shop, a small knife clenched tightly in her left hand, with eyes glaring at the poorly fixed door leading into her temporary base. Another rattle shook the door from whoever stood outside wanting entry. She heard no voice from the stranger. Only the jingle of keys. She finally heard a sound, the stranger sounded slightly frustrated as the key in hand failed to gain him entry. The grip on her kitchen knife tightened. She could hear the stranger take out a set of tools, most likely a lock pick.

After attacking the last intruder who turned out to be a friend of her. . .Owner? New master? Boss? She wasn't sure what to make of the strange blond teen other than he was watching over her for some odd reason. He hadn't done anything to her to constitute killing him. Yet. So for now, she had little reason to harm him until she was fully recovered. After she was back on her feet, she would have to think of what to do with a man with a possible case of running mouth.

The point was, until she was over her cold and her ankle healed, she would have to watch over the blond teen's place of business. As a favor of sorts. His own personal guard you could say. And right now, someone was attempting entry into his business/home without his permission. Normally she would have attempted to stealthily take them out, dispose of the body, clean up the mess, and find any form of surveillance that had caught even a glimpse of the act to get rid of. But after yesterday she had to be more careful. If she harmed someone who was connected to the blond he would give her away to the nearest form of authority.

It hadn't even been a week since May's mission. No doubt the authorities were still on the search for the culprit. May was confidant in her stealth, but she wasn't taking any chances that one officer could connect a little girl like her to the scene. All it ever took was a glimpse. Along with her condition recovering, she had to wait until the heat died down. This crappy house would be her safe house until further notice.

Now she was stuck with what to do in her current situation. Whoever stood behind that door could either be a friend of the blond like the others, or an intruder breaking in. She wouldn't know unless she saw for her own eyes who it was. Or option B.

May grew annoyed as she slid the knife back into the black Pumpkin Pete's hoodie Jaune had given her in place of her own. What she was about to do went against everything she had been trained. Which was odd seeing as she was trained for the act. Gulping dryly, she walked over to the shoddy door and opened her mouth.

"Hello? Who's there?" she asked softly as she fell back into one of her many civilian covers. Good old fashion schoolgirl never failed to drop peoples guards.

The locks went silent at her voice. The stranger behind the door paused his picking now that they knew someone was in the building. What they did next would determine whether they were a threat or not.

"Is there a Mr. Arc here? I wish to speak to him about his request pertaining to a. . .wrecked living room?" From the sounds of it, whoever was there was a male. The man's voice was gruff with an annoyed tone. She could already tell whoever spoke was a large man.

May grew on edge. She still wasn't sure what she was suppose to do next. Answer, and hope that whoever was searching for the blond freelancer wasn't a hostile. Or lower her guard and suffer the consequences to someone bigger, stronger, and willing to take advantage of her weakened state. She wasn't so sure she'd be capable of putting up much a fight, especially with her body feeling the affects of the little surgery performed on her last night. She may have been asleep during the procedure, but she could still feel the small tools digging into her eye socket.

The stranger behind the door seemed to grow impatient. An irritated sigh could be heard before they spoke again, "I do not mean to impose, but I was put in charge of handling any of Mr. Arc's requests as his temporary landlord. I simply wish to see what damages he is implying to. So, if you may, little girl, open the door. I have much to do today and I don't feel like standing around while some unknown tenant delays my work."

Landlord? It would make sense that the blond freelancer had a landlord in charge of repairs. And she did destroy his living-room. At some point while she had been sleeping or earlier in the morning, he must have sent a request to have it fixed. It sounded reasonable. Ever so slowly, the knife she was ready to withdraw again slid back into her sleeve.

It stood to reason that she would end up in a more troubling situation if she didn't let the man in. He could easily break it down if he wanted to. And she couldn't hide. She realized too late that it would have been the best solution to her problem. She cursed herself for making such a poor mistake.

As much as she didn't want to, May unlocked the door. If worse came to worse, she would work through her own weakness and dispose of the threat if need be. She already had the element of surprise on her. Who would suspect a child of stabbing them in the back? Or neck.

The stranger noticed the unlocked locks and opened the door. A dark skinned man stepped in, dressed in a formal business suit, bald headed, and dark lens shades. Even to a regular man, he was tall. And intimidating. May could see the muscles the man packed on underneath his suit. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the smooth metal rectangle on the man's temple. The stranger caught her staring, his dark blue eyes narrowing as he spoke.

"And who may you be, Miss? I do not recall Ms. Constrict informing me that Mr. Arc had a child boarding with him." he said strictly.

May grew on edge. She caught it, the ever so subtle way the temporary landlord moved his hand to the cuff's of his suit. A hidden weapon most likely.

"I'm a relative of Jaune's. He let me stay over while my parent's are away." She answered with a nervous stutter, working her angle as an innocent child.

The stranger stared at her. She didn't have to act so nervous, the way he was staring at her was actually unnerving. Was it possible that he knew she was more than she appeared?

"Hn, well, little girl, I apologize for intruding so suddenly. No doubt Mr. Arc had warned you not to answer to strangers." he said to himself after nodding. May breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. "I am Faule Metze, your, what, his cousin? Well, your cousin's temporary landlord. I do not mean to take up too much of your time, I simply wish to inspect the damage to the living room upstairs." he said while heading over to the stairs.

May followed closely behind the large man. Her eyes were trained on his back, watching out for any suspicious activity. She still didn't trust the man.

 _ **THUD!**_

Just half way up the stairs to the upper levels, May's single eye grew alarmed. The sound of a heavy object falling with a creak could be heard from one of the rooms. She knew the location, Jaune's room. And it seemed that Faule had heard it too. The man's back straightened as he came to a stop. Glancing at his hands resting at his side, she noticed his finger flexing subconsciously in some old manner. She caught the faintest glimpse of polished silver in his cuff.

"Ms. Arc, is there anyone else here?" Faule asked curiously.

"No, just me." May shrugged. Inwardly, she was planning out how to handle the possible threat in the house. But her current cover wouldn't allow for any hasty actions.

Faule nodded and carefully continued up the stairs. The subtle changes to his posture told her he was more than ready to deal with the cause of the noise himself. Once they reached the top floor, the temporary landlord quietly made his way over to Jaune's room, completely ignoring the damage to the torn up living room. He stopped suddenly only to gesture for her to stay back with a stern frown. She nodded grudgingly, her face matching his own frown when he turned around to continue. Like him, she could hear more noise, like someone was moving around the springy bed.

Reaching the door, Faule faced his back to the frame before mentally counting down to three. A small handgun was unclipped from the inside of his suit. Preparing himself for whatever laid inside, Faule kicked the door open with his leg and aimed his gun at the intruders

"FREEZE!"

Nothing.

It was a few moments before Faule lowered his gun at the lack of any intruders inside the room. Inside the modest room, he couldn't find any signs of a break in. He did notice the strewn out covers of the bed, but chalked that up to the blond freelancer being messy. He did see a few cans of grape soda littering the floor among comics. Carefully scoping out the room one last time, he pocked his gun with a tsk.

It must have been his imagination. He could have sworn that he heard noises from inside the room though. He scratched his head before shutting the door behind him. Hopefully he didn't spook the little girl with his actions. She seemed the shy and nervous type.

". . . .Coast is clear. Continuing investigation."

Unseen to the naked eye, a shimmer wavered inside the room.

* * *

It was a nice day, a very nice day for one Summer Rose.

Happily walking back to her homely little cottage home with a basket of leftover treats in hand from her lessons and a skip in her step, her pale moon face was beaming. Her smile was practically glued on. She couldn't help but hum a little tune to herself as she made her way through the woods surrounding her home. She was just feeling happy.

It had been some time since she had felt so light on her feet. With her youngest daughter having left for Vale to further her education at Sanus's top school, Summer had begun to feel lonely. Yes, it had been two years since her little Ruby had left her to live with her older sister and aunt, and in that time she should have gotten use to the empty bedroom and missing blur of red on hunt of sweets. She was an adult. She wouldn't break down like a little child who had lost their favorite teddy bear. And it wasn't like she hadn't gone through the same thing when Yang had left for Vale.

At first, she was depressed. She was all alone again. Her daughters were gone, her husband had passed on when Ruby was still a toddler, and she didn't have any other family as an orphan. Slowly though, she had pulled herself together for her children's sake. She still had a few friends around after all, and her best friend still popped around ever once in a while to snap her out of her sorry state.

Still, there were a few days in the week where Summer would begin to feel lonely without her kids around. Which was bound to happen when you're an elementary school teacher caring for other kids who at times reminded you of your kids from time to time. But for the past month or so, she hadn't been stuck in a funk when she came home to an empty cottage. Her newest little students helped to ease her loneliness, her old friend Qrow frequently messaged her, sometimes about a little bird he had apparently taken under his wing, and her bestie for life Raven always called once or twice a day to just talk. Which was a miracle seeing as her best friend had once cut all connections to her family after leaving her husband, Taiyang. Nowadays the once brooding edgelord of a woman could no longer be seen. Not unless you upset her in any way.

Today had been especially up lifting. Her sweet little sugar muffins of a students had shown progress in their ABC's, her fellow teachers had made plans to go out later for a few drinks and sweets at a local diner to hang out, her daughters had just sent her the sweetest of letters detailing their daily lives, and she was already planning on experimenting on a new recipe involving red velvet and chocolate chunks. She had far too much on her mind to be feeling lonely today!

A content sigh left Summer's smiling lips as she came in sight of her homey little cottage. To think Taiyang had built it, alongside Qrow of course. Those two boys had worked their butts off to make the perfect family home for themselves, the so called team of STRQ. She still couldn't help but giggle at the name. What exactly were they a team of again? Getting lost in past memories of her halcyon days, Summer twisted the knob of the door and walked in with the click of the door shutting behind her ever so softly.

 _ **SHING!**_

Summer paused, her silver eyes blinking owlishly at a rather familiar metallic click. Her neck felt a cold metal tickle her skin like a faint feathers graze.

". . .You know, it's not exactly normal to greet your bestie with a sword to their neck." Summer pouted.

She knew all too well the soft chuckle behind her. And the red eastern blade ever so carefully withdrawn from her jugular.

"It's an Odachi. I thought Ruby would have nagged you enough about it to learn its name."

Spinning around on the tip toes of her feet, Summer met the red sheepish gaze of her longtime friend, Raven Branwen. Her old friend was dressed in her business wear, seeming to have just gotten out of her work moments ago. Summer didn't question how the raven haired woman had made it to Patch from Vale in what would take hours in less than a few minutes. She was already well aware of her bestie/sister's _'special'_ talents. In fact, she had an idea as to why her fellow mother was home with troubled expression hidden by her rather wide smile.

Raven had definitely changed over the years since Tai had passed on and livened up, but she still wasn't the kind to smile so wide. Unless she was caught up in some kind of mess.

Pout still in place, Summer rested her hands on her hips with a stern frown on her face. She huffed, blowing back the long curved bang over her left eye.

"Alright, what did you do now? Did you attack a client of yours again? Did you go back to hustling rich guys again? Do you owe some loan shark money? Or!" Summer gasped dramatically in horror, her eye watering as her lips quivered, "Did you find a new bestie!? Are you cheating on me!? You whore!"

Raven face palmed. Yeah, Summer hadn't changed much. Still the same silly rose.

"It's nothing like that! I'll have you know I'm doing rather fine as a defense lawyer." Raven huffed, feeling slightly offended that her friend would think she would sink so low to such accusations. She hadn't done anything of that caliber since she was teenager, "I've been a rather good girl these last few years. As for finding a new bestie? As if, I couldn't get rid of you if I tried." she joked with a smirk.

"Really?" Summer said with a big silver hopeful eyes.

Raven shrugged, "Well, there might have been this woman with cat ears that I've been chatting to lately. There may have been a date or two." she teased with a grin.

Summer clutched her heart dramatically with a sound of heartbreak, "How could you!? What would the girls think!"

"They know and they're happy for me. I know Ruby's been supportive."

"Even my own daughters!? Why? How? And porque!?" Summer cried out as she fell to her knees.

Raven tilted her head, "Por-what? Is that even a word?"

"It is in a Vacou soap opera I was watching yesterday."

Grinning with a chuckle on her lips, Summer quickly got back up to get straight to the point. While it was nice to see her sister in everything but blood, she knew it wasn't as simple as that. Raven never dropped in out of the blue unless something was up. Thankfully said surprise visits had been a distant memory as of the last two years. The last time that had happened was because of a little incident with a couple of old acquaintances. Qrow had been quick to resolve whatever issues there were after a quick word from Summer. Raven wasn't exactly a fan of asking for help from her twin brother.

"But really, what's going on?" Summer asked gently.

Raven's smirk died away, leaving a nervous expression behind in its wake. Summer was immediately worried. Raven was strong. Strength was something she prided herself over, once to an unhealthy degree. She never showed any signs of distress no matter the circumstances. For the raven to be showing signs of nervousness said a lot.

Summer noticed Raven's eyes subtly dart to the upper stairs, most likely to her guest room. Each member of their little family had their own rooms, even Ruby and Yang. Whatever her bestie was hiding was apparently in her room. Hopefully it wasn't a dead body.

Surprisingly, she did not have a shovel.

"I need your help with a little situation I got."

"And what do you define as little?"

Raven didn't say a word. Instead, she opted to lead the mother of two to the second floor of the wooden cottage to her room. She scratched her cheek in some show of embarrassment.

"The I panicked and brought a bleeding stranger into your home kind."

Door open, Summer was left gaping at what she saw in the red velvet room. Bandaged hastily onto the cover strewn bed was a blond haired man. The wounded stranger was undressed, left only in his Pumpkin Pete boxers, with bandages wrapped around his still bleeding wounds. Seeing the man had taken Summer back. She was shell shocked. But not at the fact there was some random person she had never met before staining one of her guests beds red.

 _'Tai?'_

It was the fact the young man strikingly resembled her dead husband.

She had to stop herself from running right in and taking the blond boy in her arms. She knew better. Her Tai was resting peacefully. Taking in a shaky breath, Summer still made her way in to the bedside of the wounded blond. A frown marred her face as she took in his condition. She wasn't no doctor, but even she could see how badly hurt he was. Several gashes ran around his torn up white T-shirt stained in red blotches, bruises colored his skin in sour colors of blue, green, and purple, and from what she could see of his wrist it was twisted unnaturally. The poor boy must have been run through a ringer and then some.

Summer could see the blond was still a child, a teen if she was right. Most likely close to Yang's age. What could a boy his age be doing to end up like this? And why was Raven involved? Questions would have to wait it seems. She could see the blond boy's face twisting in pain from his sleep.

"Why haven't you taken this boy to a hospital?! It doesn't take a genius to know he needs proper medical attention!" Hands already peeling off the dirty rag of a shirt on the blond boy, Summer went straight to work on doing what she could to treat his wounds. She reached for the nightstand close by, knowing her irresponsible friend kept a nice old first aid kit close by.

Raven bit her lip as she helped to patch their patient up. Her red eyes kept glancing at his skin, seeming to be searching for something Summer couldn't see. A scowl grew on her lovely features.

"I'm pretty sure he'd get mad at me for lugging him to a hospital. He can barely pay off the basics like groceries, let alone a hospital bill. He'd probably drag himself out of the front doors the moment he came to, just to avoid any charges." Raven laughed softly, her voice slightly shaking.

Summer gaped midway through rolling a roll of bandages along the blond's arm, "So?! A hospital bill is better than sever scarring or worse! Hate to tell you this, but I'm not a doctor! And with a broken wrist like this!" she motioned to the blond's hand she was holding, flailing it about with a disbelief, "He needs a doctor! What are bandages and gauze going to do with a broken bone!?"

"Aughhh."

Summer nodded firmly, "See? Even he understands. Maybe. That or it could be all the pain he's in."

Raven rolled her eyes, "I'll take the latter. Besides, the circumstances aren't exactly normal. We just need to dress his wounds and set his wrist back to a more natural angle. The rest will take care of itself."

Summer huffed, "And how's that going to happen? Magic?" Now it was her turn to roll her eyes.

Raven didn't say anything. As they finished with the last of the first aid and cleaned off his wounds, she set her eyes on the wrist in Summer's hand. She cringed as she forced the broken bones to align themselves before heavily wrapping the wrist. No doubt the rest of his arm was in the same condition, broken by unnatural force he shouldn't have been capable of wielding or dishing out. All she needed now was a little magic touch.

Summer watched curiously as Raven laid her hand down onto the blond's bandaged chest. Then she saw it. The eerie pulse of blood red energy released from her body traveling along her arm to flow into the boy. She was stunned when the aura seemed to trigger a reaction, rising a shimmer of glorious white from the blond's own body.

"He. . .has aura too?" Summer said slowly in awe.

"Yeah, it appears so." Raven didn't sound all too happy about that. Even as they both watched the blond's white aura come out to begin healing his many injuries, the ravenette wasn't looking pleased to see it.

Already having a good idea on what aura could do, Summer leaned in close to her friend and whispered, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I'd rather not."

"Really? You don't want to talk about the blond boy who kinda reminds us both of our husband, resting in your guest room after going through some kind of trouble, with aura, in my house?"

"If you offered me something strong to go along with the talk, then maybe."

Summer grinned, "I got cookies and cream! Will that do?"

For a good minute, Raven stared at her best friend. A subtle twitch could be seen in her eyes before she sighed. Maybe getting tipsy right now wasn't a good idea.

"Fine, sure. But none of that store bought crap." she grumbled as she headed for the door.

There was no reason for her to stay in the room. Jaune's aura would do more for him than any doctor could right now. Staying here would only cause her to develop wrinkles on her face. And she did not want her boytoy to wake up to her with wrinkles.

Summer snickered as she followed close behind, "As if I would ever buy store bought sweets! What do you take me for? You?"

Stopping at the door, Summer took one last glance back inside the room. Her stormy silver eyes found themselves on the blond boy, watching as his face relaxed under the waves of white light. An old memory surfaced, of another much older blond laying in bed, surrounded by machines, and the faint beeping of fading life. Just as it came, the image was gone. She lingered by the door a bit more, staring at the blond boy before turning away to met with her friend.

* * *

 _'And what are you doing, young man?'_

Jaune wasn't sure what was happening. One moment he was being straddled by a very hot fem fatale from one of those spy movies he loved, then he was here. The blond freelancer squinted down at his transparent hand. He could see through his body. Like he was a ghost. Today was just getting stranger by the minute.

 _'I'm building a snowman!'_

Hearing the familiar child's voice, Jaune turned away from his ghostly floating body to find a little boy standing in the snowfield of a military base. A giant ball of snow was rolled by his side as the little boy dressed heavily in a brown snow coat, red scarf, and snow cap. The boy stopped rolling the bottom of his snowman to stare up curiously at the tall lanky man in front of him. In the background, Jaune could see several men dressed in Atlesian combat attire running through drills in cold snowing breeze.

This seemed familiar. Jaune scratched the back of his head. Was this a memory? Was that what was going on? He did remember spending a good two years in Atlas with his family. How old was he again? His face scrunched up in thought. If he remembered right, he was about six years old. Maybe that was why he couldn't remember this scene.

The man standing in front of the younger Jaune caused an ache to stab at the back of his head, right in the center of his old scar. Yet at the same time, he could feel a small smile forming on his face. Like the soldiers in the background, the man was dressed in dull gray and white attire, padded to fight against the cold, and a snow cap stamped with the Atlesian symbol. He couldn't get a good look at the man's face which was protected by a blur, but he could make out a tan olive oil complexion and green eyes.

The man knelt down to Jaune's eye level with a grin hidden behind his scarf.

"Building a snowman? I don't usually see anyone around here building a snowman of all things around the base. I must say, it does bring some cheer to the dull base." the man chuckled. "Tell me, are you a child of one of the soldiers?"

Little Jaune nodded, "Yeah! My Dad's a Lieutenant! He's a super strong soldier who fights the bad guys like a super hero!" he cheered with a bright grin.

"Like a super hero? You don't normally hear people refer to soldiers as such. Most either speak of them as nuisances, annoying foot soldiers that simply intimidate the masses in our time of peace."

Little Jaune shook his head stubbornly, "No! Dad's a hero! I don't care what anyone else says! It's because of people like my daddy that we can even have fun and stuff!"

"You seem to hold soldiers in high respect, little one. Do I see a future toy soldier in my eyes." the stranger mused.

Jaune scowled at the toy soldier comment. His little self didn't understand what the stranger meant, but he did all too well. Despite how the world was growing with tension in the recent years, it was still considered by the world a time of peace. Doubt began to arise for the need of such heavy military presence in the world. Seeing soldiers patrolling the major cities put the people on edge, the sight of deadly firearms and strict armored men creating fear to crawl into the back of their thoughts. Atlas was a good example with their military being the biggest and most advance.

Toy soldiers, Useless Army Men, G.I Jokes, those were just a few of what civilians would say to the passing soldiers under their breath. The opinion on soldiers had grown even worse in the past few years. Anyone who wanted to become a soldier was considered a failure who had no other future but to become a puppet under the government.

Little Jaune didn't see it that way and nodded his head eagerly. A big old grin was on his face before it slowly fell.

"I want to be just like them, strong and brave. But everyone says I'm nothing like my dad, that I'm just like my mamma." Little Jaune grumbled as he kicked at the snow, "Just because I like to garden, play house, and dance. It's not my fault I look good in a dress."

The stranger blinked, not sure if he heard right, "I'm sorry, did you say dress?"

Little Jaune blushed guiltily, "My sisters won't stop dressing me up. And I can't stop them."

Snickering, the stranger patted the blond boy's head. The action caused Jaune to frown lightly and touch his hair. Weird, he could swear he could feel an odd phantom sensation. Like he had felt it many times before. This was the first time he could ever remember feeling anything like that.

"I suppose you don't appear cut from the same cloth as soldiers. Dresses are rather unbecoming of a man of war. No, you appear better off playing in the snow, building snowmen and snow angels."

Little Jaune glared up at the amused stranger, but with his young age it more fussy than threatening. Only serving to prove the man right. But then the stranger smiled in a way that confused little Jaune. He didn't understand why, but the smile seemed off, lacking the usual joy the expression held.

Jaune frowned, his older self recognizing the emotion. He saw a bitterness that he felt he could sympathize with.

"But I was much the same, sans the girly dresses and talents. I guess you and I are much the same, Jaune."

The younger memory of Jaune was confused, "You know my name? How?" he tilted his head quizzically.

"Why, I'm a soldier that's why. We do have a talent in gathering intel on subjects we keep an eye on." The stranger smirked, "And I know how it feels to be walking behind a shadow you can't grasp. It's disheartening, soul crushing, and unfair. But not impossible if you have the will to try."

Standing upright, the stranger gestured his hand to the confused little blond.

"People like us, who are born without the strength or talent to become more than what we know we're capable of, aren't doomed to giving up for a new dream. There is a way to become what we wish to be. A sort of magic if you will that can make your dream come true."

Something strange happened to the stranger's hand, causing an amazed gasp from little Jaune. An amber like energy coated the man's arm. The same as the white aura that Jaune had discovered.

The stranger's face cleared up, revealing a smug grin on the man's face and the well trimmed dark mustache on his face. It was the familiar expression greeting both Jaune's that signaled the end of the memory as the world began to fade away to a white oblivion.

"Your true self is shackled by this world. I can free it, your potential to do great things if you wish it. All you have to do is follow me, and I can teach to be even more than just a soldier. How about it?"

A small, weak, and eager hand grasped the stranger's bigger hand after some hesitation. And then the memory was lost once again.

* * *

It was with a groan mixed with a yawn that Jaune's eyes fluttered open. Which he regretted. His entire body ached like someone had beaten him up in his sleep, his mouth tasted like gritty chalk, and he could feel bandages tightly wrapped around his body, restricting his movement as he tried to sit up. It took him a few moments for his vision to clear before he found himself laying back in a red velvet sheen bed, similar to the one he slept on back home. Only it was more furnished and regal.

 _'Is this what a Queen's sized bed feels like? Man, is this soft.'_ All the aches and sores on his body were soothed by the comfy mattress. He may not have any idea to where he was, but whoever his captors were at least thoughtful enough to drop his beaten body on a cloud. He almost didn't want to get up. His eyes fought to say open, the cushy bed lulling him back to rest and recover.

A sultry giggle startled Jaune awake, his thoughts turning back to the events that lead him in some strangers bed. That's right, he had to get back to May before that sexy slutty psychopath got to her! Jaune scrambled out of the red velvet sheets, biting back a shout of pain as his stiff joints and wounds screamed at him to get back to bed. Feet hitting the wooden tiled floor, he didn't waste any time taking in his surroundings as he swung the door open. He had no idea where he could be, but that didn't matter. May was in danger. He had to get back home as fast as he could.

It wasn't even a minute before his condition began to severely affect his movements. Once he got into the hall of his captors home, he felt a wave of exhaustion ram into him and affect his movements. He felt sluggish, his run coming into a stumble as his vision swam. He squinted tiredly, gasping for breath. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he found a door up ahead. He could only hope it would lead him out.

If Jaune had simply listened to his body earlier, taken a few more minutes to rest so the lingering white aura on his body could finish healing him, he might have realized what the steam drifting below the crack of the door and the sound of water running could have meant. But Jaune was stubborn. And unfortunate.

Gripping the door handle deathly tight, Jaune shook his head to get rid of the feeling of sluggishness. He had to think straight. Once he got out of here, he had to head straight for his home and hope to the gods above that whoever was searching for May hadn't found any leads to here. Maybe if he just forced whatever crazy energy he had during his fight with Drake, he could make it there in a flash.

With no more thought, Jaune swung the door wide open with a shout. That's when a wall of hot steam hit his face, momentarily blinding him. It had taken him by complete surprise, sending him falling back on his backside with a surprised cry. He groaned. Well that had caused a wound or two open back up. Slowly the steam died down as he squinted to peer into the room.

"Well. . .this is awkward."

"Eh, ain't nothing he hasn't seen from me already."

"Dripping wet, privates covered in suds, with another woman?"

"Other than the last part, yes."

". . .You know you're a mother, right?"

"Only adds to the seduction."

Jaune's jaw dropped to the floor. He wasn't sure why, but he was greeted to the naked, soap sudded form of Raven Branwen resting back against a large porcelain tub with a smaller dark red haired woman laying back on her breasts. He gulped dryly, his eyes drinking in what wet pale skin he could see from the mother of his best friend who grinned smugly. It wasn't the most revealing he had seen from Raven, not by a long shot. This was the first he had found her with another woman like this though. And was he seeing things, or did the woman comfortably laying against Raven's now clean dirty wet pillows look like an older Ruby with longer hair?

 _'No, no, no, no, no! Stay down, STAY DOWN! I'm not even wearing pants right now! Who the hell took of my pants and why?!'_

The erection in his boxers wanted to say hello to the beautiful, sexy, and mature woman in the bathtub. And it did.

Raven laughed uproariously as she watched Jaune's eyes roll into the back of his head and fall back. The poor blond passed out at the sight of two naked, bathing mothers! Oh, she was definitely teasing him about this later.

Summer pouted, smacking her friend's face to stop her laughing, "That's not funny Raven! He could still be hurt!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who dragged me away from his bedside because she wanted to take a bath together like the old days." Raven rolled her eyes, "What are you? Five?"

Summer sighed as she stood up to towel herself off. Well, that wasn't exactly how she wanted to meet her youngest daughter's best friend. Ruby talked about him plenty off times in her letters and video calls. Not to mention she could see that her cute little cookie monster was head over heels with the blond. Drying off her dark red locks that could be mistaken for black, she glanced at the knocked blond. A dark red blush colored her face as her silver eyes landed on a certain part of the boy's body standing up like a rod in the dirt.

"Oh, my!"

Raven whistled, licking her lips as she followed Summer's eyes.

"I know. I think it might be the same size as Tai's. Maybe an inch bigger. And that's a strong maybe." she pondered deeply.

"RAVEN!"

* * *

When Jaune awoke again, he at least knew where he was and that he was not in danger. Kinda. His eyes cringed at the beam of light cutting through the curtains to sting his eyes. With a groan, he sat up, noticing that his body felt less sore than before. In fact it felt like his wounds had been healed. He poked at his chest, feeling underneath the blood stained bandages to feel the various cuts and lashes closed up. It was unnatural. He couldn't help but marvel as he moved his broken wrist around without anymore discomfort.

"Pretty niffty, huh? That's aura for you, much better than any doctor you could afford on your wages."

Jaune nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Raven's voice close by. Turning his head up, he looked to the door to find the raven haired woman leaning against the open door to the room. He breathed a sigh of relief that he found her fully dressed in her business suit again. He would like to think what he had just seen was just a dream, but the memory was too vivid and clear.

"Raven? What are you doing here?" Jaune asked slowly as rubbed his eyes of sleep, "Actually, where am I? Wasn't I at work earlier?"

"You mean the construction site where you were fighting some thug and an assassin?" Raven drawled as she stepped in. She stood over the foot of his his bed with a pensive glare, "When you first said that you were a jack of all trades, I didn't think that would include crime fighter. Seriously, weren't you there to just clear some debris and move some heavy equipment? How did that end with you drugged out, wounded, and a tramp bouncing on your groin?" she growled dangerously.

Jaune paused, blinking as his mouth struggled to respond, "Wait, was she really bouncing on my groin?"

Clearly that was not the right thing to ask. The bed creaked as Raven leaped over the foot of the bed to land on top of Jaune. He shrieked in fear, finding her hands slamming down on both sides of his head as her blood red eyes glared furiously into his own.

"If I were you, I'd pick my next words much more carefully. Otherwise we'll be discovering just how durable your aura is." she hissed.

Gulping nervously, Jaune did just that and thought his next words out. Thankfully what Raven had said helped, "Wait, aura? As in Aura, Aura? That make believe energy told in fairy tales that Huntsman used?" he frowned curiously. He had thought the white energy he was using in the fight had been aura, but didn't have much time to dwell on it.

Raven nodded as she eased herself back on Jaune's waist, "Yes, that aura. How else did you think you could take on some gang leader with high tech weaponry and Dust? I know you blond's are known for your dumb luck, but not even you are that lucky." she sighed, "I'm sure you've noticed it before by now. Those bruises, cuts, and even the occasional soreness suddenly healing in record time? All thanks to your aura kicking in at random times to patch you up good as new. Though sometimes it would need a little bit of a jump start from another aura."

 _'Well that explains how I've always healed quickly after getting my butt kicked in high school. Too bad that it would just give Cardin all the more reason to beat me up again.'_ What a downer to an awesome realization. Thankfully that was in the past and the two were good friends now. The discovery of his aura also explained how he was able to sit up so easily without the stiffness he had been feeling when he first woke. He was pretty sure that his broken wrist was almost healed, he could only feel a slight soreness and stiffness now.

"How is that even possible? If I had aura this whole time, how am I only now seeing it?" Jaune asked with doubt. In the back of his head, which had been bashed by a bat, he chalked up the strange light on his body as some kind of trick of his mind. At one point he did see three Drake's snapping a chain of snakes at him. It must have been all in his head.

Raven didn't seem to be sure either, "I don't know to be honest. For as long as I've known you, you've always had your aura. But you didn't seem to be aware of it, which explains why it always remained free yet dormant. It's actually why I was wary of you when Yang first brought you into my house." she explained as Jaune's eyes lit up in understanding.

"I knew it! I always thought that you didn't like me when we met!" It really did! He had thought he was just being paranoid around the edgy mother when he was first brought into the Branwen home. He was a teenage boy who was friends with her daughter, wanting to live under the same room with them, and would be unsupervised when she was away, with her daughter. It did make sense that she wouldn't like him. But at times he could have sworn it was much more than that, like he was a some kind of hidden threat.

Raven blushed in embarrassment. She wasn't exactly kind or warm to him back then. Now look at her, sitting on top his crotch, in her bed while he was half naked. Funny how things change in four years.

But that did bring up another question, "Wait, so you know about this? About aura existing as more than some fairy tale? How does a single mother working as a defense attorney know anything about that?"

"Let's just say due to reasons I know all about aura. But that's a very long story for another day." Raven explained with some struggle. From the tone of her voice, Jaune could tell it was a difficult matter to speak about, "It really would take up an entire day to explain, and I believe the time wasted would be better used dealing with the trouble you've found yourself in. You did beat down the leader of a local gang of anti-humanists, plus there's that group of woman that nearly kidnapped you to their lair. Seems since you've left my home you've been stumbling into nothing but trouble." she muttered tiredly.

No arguments there. Jaune sighed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. From late bills, lack of work, short income, and now fighting criminals? His life really had fallen downward since high school had ended. It was hard to believe this was his life now.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Raven grew serious, "So, do you mind explaining what went down moments before my semblance warned me of your danger?"

Remembering the whole reason he was in this mess in the first place again, Jaune grew panicked and nearly tossed Raven off of him, "MAY! Damn it, please don't tell me they got to her!" he jumped in his bed. Raven grimaced, moving quick to shove him back down. Jaune struggled to move her off, sputtering on about a strange girl's name. She wasn't exactly happy about that.

"Calm down! While your wounds are just about healed, the same can't be said about your stamina! It hasn't even been a day since I brought you back to my friend's house. Before you even think about doing something stupid, you need to take some time to recover your energy!" she shouted as she pinned down his flailing arms.

Weak as Jaune was, he still wouldn't let up. His face twisted in frustrated scowl.

"But she's in danger! If they even know my name, than all it will take is a few searches on the god damn internet to find out where I live and work! They already know she's living with me, so all they have to do is break down my already broken door and take her!" he shouted angrily.

"Take who!?"

"MAY!"

The strength in Jaune's arms and legs gave out, the little energy he could dig up wilting away as quick as it came. A shuddered breath left his lips. He could feel a hot wetness in his eyes as he stared up into Raven's confused red eyes. He bit his lower lip at the thought of the girl he had saved from the rain suddenly gone from his home.

"I saved her, when everyone else just turned away from her to die. And now the people who left her like that are going to take her from me." he said softly with a cracking voice.

Raven grew silent. She watched the blond boy she normally saw smiling, grinning, and rebuffing her advances on the verge of breaking down. Her gaze softened. Easing up on her grip on his wrists, she moved a hand to stroke his cheek like she had done once before not too long ago in a similar situation.

She remembered, a time a few years back, on a particular day where the rain wouldn't let up, and a few simple words had nearly broken the blond freelancer. She could see his blue eyes, haunted and full of regret because of what she had said in a moment of high temper. And how that single moment had eventually resulted in the repair of her relationship with her own estranged daughter.

"Calm down. Whoever this May girl is, I'm sure she's alright. Whoever was after her must know better than to make such a sudden move after I spooked them earlier. If they were smart and tactful as I believed, than they would regroup to rethink their approach with a new threat rearing its head into the plan." Raven said in ease. Seeing that Jaune visibly relaxed a bit, she continued to press on gently, "But that's only for the moment. If what I'm getting at from what I heard is right, than some shady group is searching for this May girl you've been sheltering for who knows how long now. Which means they'll eventually come back prepared to deal with whoever stands in their way. So, I'm going to need you to explain to me everything from the beginning if I'm going to be of any help."

Jaune wasn't sure how Raven could help him in this situation, but she did apparently save him from some unknown fate at the hands of a very sexy yet deadly purple haired woman. Relenting, he spent the next few minutes retelling the events of that rainy morning that lead to the discovery of the ill May. Through out the recount of the last few days, Raven listened closely without stopping him to ask a question. He did catch her frown a few times, even stop herself from snickering when he told her the truth of why he sneaked into her house. By the end of it, she was sitting beside him at the edge of the bed as he stared down the wooden floor.

After absorbing the entire story, Raven sighed in frustration. She stood up without a word, turning her head away from the troubled blond.

". . .You're going to need to keep your head down low for the next couple of days." she finally spoke with a tone of certainty, "In the meantime you can stay here until everything has calmed down. I'll have a few of my old friends pick up anything you need from Qrow's place if you need. Food, clothing, anything you need will be provided by the very nice and affectionate woman who owns the house."

Jaune frowned, "Wait, what are you talking-

"Oh, by the way the woman you saw naked with me in the tube and will be taking care of you is Ruby's mother. So, make sure to be friendly, but not too friendly."

"Hold on! I can't stay here!"

"I'll be sure to pop by to see how you're doing in the meantime. I'll also tell Yang and Ruby that you had to go out for a few days to visit some relatives. And once this is all over, you and I are going to have a very long, extensive conversation about your living arrangements. It's obvious to me now that you can't continue living by yourself."

"HEY! STOP TALKING TO YOURSELF ABOUT DECISIONS YOU HAVE NO RIGHT OF MAKING!" Jaune lost his patience quickly as he stood up with a shout. His hand grabbed onto Raven's shoulder to turn her around, "You can't just make me disappear! I may not know what's happening, but I know that I can't just run away at the first signs of trouble. I can handle things myself!"

Cold red eyes barely glanced at him, "You call this handling it yourself? Being beaten senseless by some thug?"

"I won, didn't I?" Jaune said through gritted teeth.

"Only by some asspull you can't control. Tell me, do you think you can repeat what you did earlier before against an actual trained fighter, a killer? You fought a petty thug, these people who now have their eyes on you treat idiots like Drake like flailing toddlers." Raven scoffed with an empty chuckle, "You're just a child, you don't have any need to get involved in any of these icky matters. Just continue playing freelancer. And forget about your aura."

Jaune was baffled, "You expect me to just forget? That I should just hide with my tail between my legs like some coward?"

Raven stared sternly at Jaune, her jaw set with a soft expression growing on her face. Carefully she moved Jaune's trembling hand from her shoulder and gingerly held it in her own.

"There's nothing wrong with running from a threat you can't face. Just leave it to me, okay? I'll take care of everything for you." she said sternly.

Jaune wanted nothing more to argue against her, but Raven had already moved out towards the door without a response. His eyes trailed her back as his fists tightened.

"And what about May? What are you going to do with her?" he hissed.

At that, Raven stopped outside the door. Her red eyes looked back to him, void of care. He didn't see the mother of two of his best friends, who he had grown close to and who flirted with him every chance she had. A stranger stared back callously with cold blood eyes.

"She's the one who caused you trouble, putting even more stress on your shoulders. I'll deal with her as I see fit. And if she's a threat. . ."

She didn't finish her sentence, leaving the threat hanging between them.

Jaune shut his eyes in frustration.

"Take me home."

"You don't get to make that choice!" Raven snapped, "Why can't you see that I'm trying to protect you!? If you go back, they'll hunt you down relentlessly because of that girl! And if you go back, I won't be there to protect you! Jaune, I care about you deeply, you've done more for me and my family than I could ever do for you, but that does not exclude you from my personal rule."

"And what rule is that?" Jaune scowled.

"Everybody gets one." she said finely.

Nothing more was said between the two as a tense silence grew. Neither relented to another, refusing to back down from what they wanted. All either wanted to do was protect the people they wanted, but found each other in the way of their wish. It was Raven that made the first move, turning her back to Jaune's stubborn gaze as she sighed tiredly.

"Clearly you're still worn out from your fight. You're not thinking straight, so I'll give you some time to rethink what you're saying." She said softly as she played with her midnight locks, "While I'm here, I'll be away taking care of some personal business. My friend Summer will be here to look after you, along with keeping you inside the house. By the time I get back, you have a decision to make. Listen to me and let me handle everything. Or leave, handle it yourself."

Saying her piece, Raven walked away with one final word.

"But know, that if you do decide to leave, I won't be there to save you again."

Jaune waited a few moments until he was sure Raven was gone until before a muffled shout escaped his lips and punched bed's headboard. He cringed as the skin of his knuckles were scraped, his aura failing to rise up to protect him from harm. Thank god Raven wasn't around to see that. Shoulders slumping, he turned back for the bed to lay back down. Their little discussion was a lot more draining that he realized. His eye stared up at the ceiling, his thoughts jumbled as he tried to figure what to do next.

It wasn't a surprise to him that he found himself knocked out from all the stressful thoughts.

* * *

The floorboards creaked with every step Jaune took as he tried to carefully navigate the house. He wasn't sure what time it was since he left his Scroll back home with May, but he was pretty sure it was late afternoon by now. He had spent nearly the entire day sleeping from what he guessed. Even his body refused to take another nap. Not to mention it seemed his aura had finished healing the last of his wounds in his sleep.

 _'Too bad it won't come out when I want it.'_ Jaune thought with a glare aimed at his arm. No matter how hard he tried to recall the sensation of the warm energy flowing out from his body, he couldn't do it. His aura didn't seem to want to listen to him if he wasn't in danger. Lazy bastard.

While his aura wasn't responding to any of his commands, his stomach decided to speak up. A rumbling growl could be heard from his neglected stomach, reminding him to his next course of action. Food. If he could find something to snack on that would at least solve one of his problems. He just needed to be careful sneaking around the house. He'd already made it down the creaky steps downstairs and found himself in the modest living room. And he had yet to see or hear any sign of his temporary caretaker. So far, so good.

In the back of his mind, he knew that the woman watching over him in place of Raven was Ruby's birth mother, and Yang's mother when Raven had once abandoned her. Ruby had gone over and over how sweet and kind her mother was, always bragging about the tastiest cookies you would ever taste. Apparently you'd never be able to choke down store brand cookies once you had a taste of Summer Rose's Strawberry Chocolate Layered Cookies. Whenever Ruby and Yang brought up their mother, he always grinned and said he'd love to meet her one day.

Never in his wildest dreams did Jaune believe he would ever meet Summer Rose in boxers while she bathed in a large tub, naked with steam and suds just barely granting the mother of one of his best friends privacy. _'Note to self, never mention any of this to Ruby. Or, god forbid, Yang. I've taken enough lumps to last me a long time. I don't doubt that Yang could kill me if she found out.'_

Jaune shivered at the image of a red eyed Yang standing imposingly over his cowering form while she grinds her fist into her knuckles with a strained grin. Just the very idea of the event slipping out of his lips made him think again to going back home. He shook his head stubbornly with a frown, taking back the idea of staying in the house any longer than needed. May was still home, probably wondering where the hell he was.

But would it really be a good idea to go back? To return to the knowledge of some dangerous group of people now watching his back with every intent of taking May from him in whatever way they could? Raven was right, he had only won against Drake by pulling a miracle out of his ass. If it wasn't for his aura there was no question he would have lost. Or worse.

Doubt and hunger weren't a great mix. As Jaune reached what he believed was the kitchen, he sighed at what was the right thing to do versus what he wanted to do.

"And to think I thought today was a going to be a great day. I wonder what happened to everyone at work?" Jaune said to himself with worry. Last he remembered everyone had been tied up by the Chipped Fang. By now the police should have arrived and freed them, treating whatever wounds they had suffered at the hands of the thugs. Hopefully Quill and Bronz had been taken care of.

Jaune's stomach didn't pay any attention to his worrying thoughts, speaking up loudly to bring attention back to its empty self. He could only ignore it for so long. Checking the well furnished kitchen room for any sign of Summer, he breathed a sigh of relief before stepping in and heading to the fridge. Hopefully he could find enough in the kitchen and fridge to make a sandwich.

Opening the white fridge, Jaune bent down to peek inside for any ham when he heard an amused humm from behind.

"You know, if you were really hungry, you could have just asked for something to eat instead of sneaking around like a raccoon." the voice sang brightly.

Jaune couldn't help it, and if asked later, he would deny it. But if pressed relentless, he would admit, he did squeal in fear like a little girl. He nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun around to find a long dark red haired woman leaning close to his sweating face with a mirthful grin. She was dressed in a short sleeved frill blouse with a cute red bow tie on the collar of her choker, a deep red short skirt that touched her kneecaps, and ruby dress shoes with long white socks. And silver eyes with a long curved bang partially hiding one of her pupils. Jaune had to blink as he swore he was staring at a near identical version of Ruby. Only older. And dare he say, cuter?

Summer tilted her head, her face coming closer to the startled blond's, "Did you just scream like a girl? Wow, and I thought Tai was the only one with the pipes to pull that off. Now that I got a better look on you, you could actually come off as a girl if you grew your hair out to your neck and straightened it." she mused as she squinted her eyes.

Oh, he knew that. And she was not wrong in the slightest.

Realizing the situation he was in, Jaune apologized right away, "I'm sorry about this! I guess I should have asked if I could eat something since this is your home." he said in embarrassment.

"Nah, you're fine, Jaune! I know this is all weird and strange, being inside some woman's house, in nothing but your boxers, strapped to the bed in bondage without your consent or a safe word."

Jaune paused, "But I wasn't strapped to the bed." he said weakly.

Summer nodded firmly, "Because I talked Raven out of it. I didn't even think she had any rope or leather straps in her room. I mean, I knew she was edgy and junk, but I didn't think she was into that sort of thing. You think you know a person." she shrugged as Jaune's face gained an expression of horror.

 _'And now I can't ever get rid of the image of a dominatrix Raven slapping a whip in her palm from my mind.'_

"Anyway, you don't have to sneak around me. Compared to Raven, I'm nothing but a big old softie. I'm the least threatening mother you'd ever seen!" Summer gushed while flailing her arms around childishly.

 _'That I doubt.'_ Jaune thought dryly even as he admitted that Summer was adorable. He knew better than to take the sweet smile of a mother for granted.

Taking his hand, Summer moved Jaune back from the fridge with a smile. It was than that he noticed just how small the mother was. She was probably an inch or two taller than Ruby! She could probably pass off as a high schooler if you gave her a uniform. Even she noticed as she awed at his height while standing up on her toes to meet his eyes.

"Aren't you a big boy!"

"Thanks?" What more could he say in this situation? She caught him sneaking around her house, still his boxers. Thankfully his stomach did the speaking for him.

Summer giggled as Jaune's face turned beet red. She could already see that he was the stubborn type. Without another word, she went about the kitchen making the poor boy a fitting lunch. Seeing how loud his belly growled, she was going to have to make a big old meal to make up for his body's loss of energy.

"Why don't you take a seat in the living room, Jaune? Just give me some time to whip you something nice and relax! You're body maybe healed, but you still need to take it easy until you've regained your energy!"

Jaune didn't see any room to argue seeing as the short mother became a blur of red, running around the kitchen in a haste that put Ruby's speed to shame. At least he knew were she got most of her habits from. Taking a seat in the red cushioned four seater sofa, he decided to sit back and turn his eyes to the tv. Some relaxation could be the answer to his indecision.

'-ill unknown to the identity of second party involved with the attack on Hedge Construction's latest project, but authorities are still on the lookout for any information to the event. From what information gathered at the scene, it appears the hostages were knocked out by the leader of the Chipped Fang, Drake Scales, before the local gangs operations were stopped. Due to lack of surveillance and the criminal in question still unconscious as the story develops, authorities are left questioning who could have possibly stopped the gang's criminal activities.'

Lissa Lavender spoke with her ever present calm smile as she stood in the middle of the very site Jaune had just fought against Drake in. He groaned, catching all the damage to unfinished buildings created by their fight. He wasn't sure he would have a job with them after this. There went another check.

Leave it to the news to rush in to report what went down. At least he now knew the time. Jaune was surprised to see that the news clock read 6:47, on the cusp of 7. Which meant it had only been eight hours since his fight.

Back on the holoscreen, Lissa Lavender continued her report, 'While all the workers appeared accounted for and are currently being treated for their wounds, it appears that one of the workers was unaccounted for. One Jaune Arc, a freelance worker of a local freelance shop, Qrow's Nest, is missing. Authorities suspect that the young man may have been kidnapped, seeing as the Chipped Fang had escaped without their leader in tow. If anyone has any information to the whereabouts of Mr. Arc, please contact your local police station with any information.'

Another groan, "Great, now people are going to think I was kidnapped! If my parents see this, I'm dead!" he smacked his face, blocking his view of the news.

If he had his Scroll on him, it would be blowing up with messages from all his friends who had seen the news report. Which meant that May would figure out that he went missing. What would the poor girl do?

"Some food for your troubles?"

Peeking through his fingers, Jaune found Summer's amused silver eyes in his face again. The woman didn't seem to care for personal space. His nose immediately picked up on the mouth watering smell of the plate of food the small woman had in hand. He stared down to find a plate of hot cookies in her hand, causing him to gulp hungrily. His hand reached out for one of the strawberry scented, chocolate iced cookies that Ruby had constantly gone on about, only for Summer's hand to slap it away.

"Ah, ah, ah! That's dessert! You'll have to finish your lunch before you can sink your teeth into these bad boys." Summer teased the dejected blond before revealing the small spread of sandwiches on the coffee table in front of them.

While Jaune would have loved to try out the famous cookies, he decided to feed his stomach first and dug right into the sandwiches with gusto. He practically scarfed down the sandwiches without even knowing what kind of bread, meat, veggies, or spread they were composed of. All that mattered was that every bite was as delicious as the last. He had to stop himself from choking on a large bit before gulping down a lemonade a snickering Summer handed him.

"I know you're hungry, but you got to take it slow. I can't have Raven killing me for you choking to death." Summer eased him gently while rubbing his back.

Coughing lightly into his hand, Jaune grumbled to the side as he took a smaller bite of a roastbeef sandwich, "I wouldn't be surprised if she did. I guess I don't know Raven as well as I thought I did.' he said bitterly.

Raven was a single mother who had made a mistake when she was young. She abandoned her daughter believing she wasn't ready for a child, left behind the man she was going to marry, and got involved with some shady practices. But she wanted to make up for a her mistakes, be a better mother, and clean up her act so she could set a better example for her only daughter when she learned her first love had tragically died. She may have seemed brooding, stern, and cold at first glance, but she was a loving and caring woman.

At least that's what Jaune had believed. But that empty, uncaring look in her eye had shown him a new face on the stoic mother he had grown to care for as a good friend.

Summer seemed to understand as she smiled solemnly, taking a seat beside the blond boy as he continued to eat his meal at a more steady pace now.

"Yeah, Raven isn't what you would call warm and loving at first glance. Even after all these years, she doesn't appear to have changed a bit, still the edgelord that I consider a sister. But believe it or not, she's a lot more kind and nurturing than before. Despite whatever you may have heard from her, I know she doesn't mean it."

Jaune wasn't too sure. That look in Raven's eye still stuck to him, like he was finally meeting a part of herself that she had hid him from him for so long.

"She wants me to stay here, stay out of sight, and let her take care of everything. She wants me to abandon the little girl I found abandoned in the rain, who trusts me enough to not runaway despite being a stranger, just to save my own skin. How the hell am I suppose to just listen to her?" Jaune said lowly with frustration. The sandwich in his grip was mushed in a spike of anger. He winced in apology, getting a nonchalant wave from the dark red haired mother.

Cleaning up the small mess, Summer looked to Jaune in thought. She seemed to be thinking of what to say to him.

"I wasn't told the whole story of your situation, I can only make something up with what little Raven told me and what I'm getting from you, but I do know one thing!" Summer proclaimed brightly.

Jaune chuckled into his lemonade at the short mother's dramatic pose. Ruby really did take after her.

"And what would that be?"

"Raven really does love you."

Jaune choked on his sip of lemonade.

Snorting as she helped Jaune over his coughing fit, Summer grinned, "Well, I wouldn't know if that would also be romantically, she has gone on and on about a certain blond teenager she's been trying to wrestle into bed these last two years. But I know that she really does care deeply about you. You're someone special to her, someone she would do whatever she could to protect from harm. If you haven't guessed yet, Raven's not exactly a friendly gal."

Jaune nodded as he sighed in relief. Raven was a stoic, just like Blake. Maybe even more so. He couldn't even count the number of friends he knew of that hung out with her. Besides the occasional business associate he'd seen talking with her, he had never met any of Raven's friends in all the years he had lived with her. He knew she must have had some, Yang had said she had even met one that was a few years older than her.

"Raven's had. . .a rough life. She believed that the only worth in this world was strength, that one should be able to fly on their own without any help." Summer said with a melancholic smile on her face. "It was hard to believe that we had been friends in those days, or that she had even considered me a rival at one point. She was cold, rude, arrogant, and selfish. A total edgelord. But as the years went by and we became closer, I learned something."

Twisting her small body to fully face Jaune, she grinned warmly. To Jaune, her silver eyes appeared sad yet happy at the same time.

"That the sharper the edge, the more vulnerable and breakable the blade."

Jaune wasn't sure what to make of the sentence, but nodded none the less. Seeing that alone seemed to put Summer at ease and bring a wider grin to her face. He felt a tinge of guilt. It seemed what she had said meant a lot to her and he wasn't even sure what to make of it.

"Raven's your friend, a unique one that I'm not even sure I can classify." Summer grumbled cutely, her showing jealousy at the closeness they shared, one he didn't even understand himself, "In the end, she just wants you to be safe. I know she wouldn't be able to stand to lose someone else close to her. Not again."

Summer's final words left her softly with a slight hitch to her voice. Jaune bit the inside of his cheek, knowing enough about Raven to understand the meaning.

Ruby and Yang had a father once. Taiyang Xiao Long, a teacher on their island who had once worked as a local officer before taking an early retirement for unknown reasons to teach. Sadly he had passed away during a tragic accident when Ruby was just a toddler who couldn't even understand the loss of her father. It was actually one of the reasons that had Raven come back to make amends with her only daughter after abandoning her family for her own reasons.

Jaune sighed, pushing away the food aside as he fell back against the plush sofa cushions. Raven simply wanted to protect him, huh? At whatever costs or methods, no matter what anyone would see of her. Alright, he could understand her a bit more now. He just wished she could have just come out and said it instead of forcing him here. Well, not force. He did have a choice once she came back from whatever she was doing right now. Shutting his eyes, Jaune leaned his head back as he went into thought.

 _'I can leave this to Raven. I don't know how, but she says she can take care of everything for me. She can protect me from these unknown threats, maybe even help out May if I ask in exchange for listening to her. All I have to do is just sit right here.'_

Sit here, enjoy the nice and cozy sofa, eat a homemade meal from a beautifully sweet woman, and relax for once without anymore worries. No stress, no late bills, no pain. A well deserved vacation.

"You can stay here, you know?"

Jaune blinked rapidly, suddenly finding himself laying back on the sofa with a certain dark redhead leaning atop of him. His face flushed at the almost naive and innocent silver eyes staring him down with a cute tilt of her head. Summer's smile was warm and welcoming, easing his muscles and shaky breath.

"Until all of this mess you're in dies down, you just stay here, away from harm and stress. I can already see that you're not exactly doing alright, especially after hearing everything Raven's told me about your work. Still can't believe Qrow left you his rundown shop." she rolled her eyes in amusement, bringing a slight smile to Jaune's lips, "You may be out of school, and shoulder responsibilities of an adult, but you're still just a kid. A down on his luck kid. So, just stay? Leave behind all those worries and problems for a few days, and enjoy yourself."

Jaune gulped anxiously underneath the sweet mother. He wouldn't deny that everything she had said was what he wanted. He was just a down on his luck kid, stuck into this whole mess by a series of unfortunate events that he was too stubborn to give in to. And here a beautiful older woman was offering to take away all those weights on his shoulders with a warm smile on her face.

He'd be lying if he didn't acknowledge that Summer was a beautiful woman. Despite being a mother to a seventeen year old, she didn't look a day over twenty-five. She still retained her young features and figure into her thirties. He struggled to swallow, feeling her modest chest press itself onto his own as she leaned closer to his face.

"I wouldn't mind the company, you know? It be nice to having someone home after coming back from a long day of work. It's been some time since I had someone to welcome me back after my little rose left for school. Even if it was only for a few days, you could stay here, with me. And I'd take care of you, help mend your body, however I can." her words danced across his lips, hot enough to warm his cheeks.

And those silver eyes. There was something behind them that made his heart beat grower quicker the longer they stared at him. He swore his heart was about to burst, the odd spot he found himself under making him see things as it looked like Summer's face was only growing closer and closer to his face until their lips were just an inch away from meeting.

"Just let the adults take care of everything."

Just let someone else. . .take care of everything for him.

Jaune shut his eyes as his fists balled up tightly. That was the last thing he wanted, it was the whole reason why he had refused to go back home. He knew that if he went back to his mother and father, to his sisters, that they would take care of everything he ever needed for him. Just like when he was little. Cuddling him because he was their little Jauney, so weak and useless. He had left home on the sole intent of proving to them that he could make it on his own in the world. And he had, he graduated high school without them, got his own job, his own business, and his own home!

But they weren't really his. Were they?

It was because of Ruby and his friends that he had graduated by the skin of his teeth. When he had lost his job, lost what money he had saved to put a down payment on his own apartment, it was Qrow who had saved him from his mistakes with a job and home. Even the business he ran wasn't truly his, it was Qrows. Jaune was just watching over it until the day he decided to take it back.

What had Jaune done for himself? Everyone was always helping him. Helping little Jaune who couldn't do anything for himself. And again someone else more capable would take care of his problems for him.

 _'I'll take care of her, protect her, with all my power! At least until she's ready to open up to me and let me help her however I can. Because I would regret it more, that I left her alone, than I would taking her in!'_

May would be left alone, given up to someone else. Someone else would save her, when she had given him a sliver of trust in only a few days. Would this be any better than abandoning her?

What was it? Pride? Stubbornness? Foolishness? Arrogance? What was it-

"I'm sorry, but I can't."

That made him finally say _No_?

Summer was certainly surprised. Those blue eyes that were ready to succumb to her own were now stern and bold. Jaune's hand moved to clasp her wrists before gently moving her off of him. She wasn't sure why, but he grinned at her.

"Thank you though, for taking care of me. And the awesome sandwiches! But," Jaune paused as they both sat up in front of another, his hands resting on her small shoulders, his voice firm and strong, "I don't think I can stick around any longer. Wish I could, I would have loved to get to know the woman who raised both of my best friends more."

A frown grew on Summer's face before it began to slowly turned to one of understanding.

She wanted to say something, to the decision he had come to, but whatever she was going to say was cut off by the sound of the house door creaking open. Both Jaune and Summer spun their heads over the couch to find a certain raven haired defense lawyer walking in with a stoic gaze aimed solely for a head of blond.

Raven wasn't dancing around the issue, getting straight to the point as she walked over to the two. Her arms crossed over her chest as she stood over Jaune imposingly. The odachi tied to her hip was new feature he had never noticed before.

"So, what's it going to be?"

Jaune would have gulped under the terse red eyes that wished nothing more for him to submit to her. He would have shrunk underneath her shadow, one that he had finally noticed carried a foreboding to the mother's presence. Instead, he stood up tall and straight with a set scowl of determination.

Raven had to pause and blink.

'Was he always this tall?'

She wouldn't have much time to ponder the thought, or try to measure herself up to his height. Because he had his answer. And she wasn't going to like it.

* * *

May's ears twitched at the sound of knuckles knocking on wood. From her seat on Jaune's bed, she quickly hopped off and quietly made her way down to the storefront. She didn't need to check on who was behind the door like the several other frantic knocks that had greeted her. She wondered why he even bothered knocking. It was his store.

Opening the poorly fixed door, May found herself quirking a brow as she found Jaune standing there with a sheepish grin on his bandaged face. Her eye traveled along his neckline to see more bandages on his chest. Was he aware he wasn't wearing a shirt? Her nose crinkled at the smell of sweat coming off his half naked body.

"Were have you been?" May couldn't but ask.

Jaune chuckled awkwardly, "I guess you could say I was visiting an old friend and making a new one. Sorry if I worried you." Jaune winced, knowing that word of what had gone down in the construction site might have reached her, "I didn't mean to disappear on everyone like that. I guess I should have called, huh?"

May shrugged, "I wasn't worried. But your scroll has been ringing a lot. And several of your friends have come knocking to see if you were home, along with one of Ms. Constricts men to talk about repairs to the living room."

"One of Ms. Constrict's goons was here? He didn't threaten you, did he?" Jaune asked with a frown as he closed the door behind him carefully. He was going to have to make a note of it later. Ren did his best to mend it with what tools he had, but it needed some real work.

He put aside May's lack of care for his disappearance. By now he understood that she wasn't one for showing emotions. She'd warm up to him eventually.

"No, he simply assessed the cost of the damages and a reminder to pay your rent on time."

Jaune grunted and moaned at the same time. That could be difficult since he might not have a well paying contract come tomorrow. He was going to have to see how everyone was doing later. Right now though, he just wanted to relax, make sure that May was feeling better, and then start working on his next course of action.

He already had an idea of what he was going to be doing these next few days.

Following her caretaker up the stairs, May's attention was suddenly drawn to the rumbling in her coat's pocket.

"You have another call." she said dully.

Jaune scratched his head with a sigh. Poor May, she was probably being bugged constantly by everyone on his contacts. Well, it was about time to start explaining himself.

"Should I answer it?"

"Yeah, might as well."

Turning around at the top of the stairs, Jaune wasn't ready for the call to go straight for video. A face he hadn't seen in quiet some time popped up. A head of red hair tied back by an elastic green band, gentle green eyes that always looked up at him, and a caring smile that would never drop whenever he was around greeted him.

"Hello, Jaune!"

Pyrrha Nikos waved at the frozen faced Jaune Arc. One thought crossed his mind.

 _'I still don't have an answer to her confession!'_

* * *

 _ **No longer will you stand by and allow others to care for your struggles with an embarrassed grin. Power now rests on your shoulders. A power you have forgotten to wield. Now is the time to stand tall and fight for what you desire with your own hands.**_

 _ **Protect the sliver of trust. And brace yourself for what awaits you in the face of trained killers.**_

 _ **All of which is easier said and done when compared to answering your best friend's confession.**_

 **So, this chapter was much more of an aftermath to set up the next following chapters leading to the climax of the arc. Let's hope to god I can get some more time to write it up. I assure you it's not because of lack of ideas or writers block that I'm not updating, it's literally because I'm just too tired from work and dealing with other things that I can't write. Being an adult sucks. Which is why I now fully understand why you must be an adult to drink.**

 **Anyways it's Christmas! And I still got two new stories for ya to read. One of which is the popularly voted A Huntsman's Awakening. The other is more of a surprise and not related to RWBY at all. It was a project I had working on for several months that I now decided to upload after finishing a good amount of chapters ahead of time. If you're a fan of A Certain Magical Index, I'd give it a look. And if you've never heard of it, what's wrong with you?**

 **Seasons greetings and have a happy holiday everyone! If ya want to leave me a gift, Read and Review. It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


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